SHCC agrees to allow wayfaring signs downtown, with one condition

The Safety Harbor City Commission agreed on Monday night to allow new wayfaring business signs in the downtown district, approving a recent proposal from the Merchants of Safety Harbor (MOSH) group.

The approval, however, came with one condition: that advertising on the signs be limited to downtown business only.

“If you’re trying to promote businesses downtown…you’d want to restrict the advertising to businesses in the downtown area,” Mayor Andy Steingold said during the commission’s discussion of the agenda item on Monday night.

“The purpose behind the signage is for the businesses downtown.”

Despite the added condition, which would require permission from the commission to include businesses from outside the CRA on the signs, representatives of MOSH welcomed the decision.

“We needed it,” Clyde Hutchings, the co-owner of Edgewater & Main who spearheaded the sign campaign for MOSH, said of the deal.

“Our main priority was to get advertising from the 170 merchants that are located in the downtown district, and we’re already getting MOSH members saying they want to sign up for a year because the rates are so low, so I think it’s fine.”

According to the proposal, MOSH plans to have three new or refurbished signs installed in the first year of the agreement, at a cost of $12,200, which will come from CRA funds.

The signs, which would be located at the marina, the John Wilson Park Gazebo and in front of City Hall, would each include a single panel devoted to a comprehensive business directory, with the two-sided and three-sided signs featuring additional advertising space.

The City would be in charge of installing and maintaining the signs, while MOSH would be in charge of securing the advertising and covering the monthly maintenance costs.

Hutchings said the breakdown of the advertising spots has not been agreed upon yet, but he noted one half of the panels would be dedicated to city events.

“The city gets space to advertise their events according to the agreement, and the other half will be for the advertisers,” he said, adding, “We’re not sure how we’re going to divide our half yet.”

While Hutchings said he hopes to have the signs installed before the special events season kicks into high gear in the fall, city officials cautioned it could take a while before the final agreement is officially approved.

“The commission gave us the direction we needed, and now staff will work with the city attorney as well as MOSH in order to come up with the final draft of the agreement,” City Manager Matt Spoor told Safety Harbor Connect. “When the final agreement is drawn up, it will come back before the commission for approval.”

Spoor pointed out there are only two regular commission meetings scheduled between now and August.

That means the earliest the proposal could come back to the commission for a vote would be July 18, as there is no meeting on Monday, July 4.

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• Merchants, officials meet to discuss Safety Harbor sign code