Despite concerns voiced by councilmembers over the cost, the new sign was approved unanimously.
CalTrans will be building a welcome sign for the City of Signal Hill at a ramp to the 405 freeway south of 32nd street, while Signal Hill will be responsible for maintaining it.
The Signal Hill City Council unanimously voted on Tuesday to enter into an agreement with CalTrans that would require the state agency to cover the cost of building the sign, estimated between $90,000 to $120,000, and require the City of Signal Hill to fund the estimated annual maintenance cost of $24,000.
As part of the required maintenance, the City would have to provide both routine and emergency maintenance, come up with a plan for how to deal with graffiti, and plan how to preserve the appearance and structural integrity of the sign.
The annual maintenance cost will use money from the City’s tax-payer funded General Fund, through the City’s Public Works Operating Budget.
Public Works Director Thomas Bekele said that City staff used two methods to estimate the annual cost to maintain the sign. They reached out to the City of Long Beach, and learned that the annual maintenance cost for one of its large signs was around $2,500 a month.
They also contacted graffiti removal vendors, and learned that the average cost to clean up each incident of graffiti was around $400. City staff came up with the estimated annual maintenance cost of $24,000 based on these prices.
“We could do other public art for $20,000 a year, so my hope is that it really doesn’t cost $24,000 to maintain, this seems like a very high cost for maintaining a sign.”
– Councilmember Keir Jones
“It seems like we’re asking for a headache,” said councilmember Robert Copeland.
This project began in 2021, as part of a statewide initiative to beautify freeways. Various design ideas were discussed throughout 2022 and 2023, with the final design presented to City Council during its April 9 meeting.
The sign will display the words “City of Signal Hill” in cursive above the printed word “Welcome.” It will be 14 feet high, eight feet wide, with a 2.5 feet deep foundation. The letters will light up using solar power.
