Greensburg council continues debate on electronic sign near St. Clair Park

The location of an electronic sign in Greensburg is up in the air after city council tabled a proposal Monday to put it in St. Clair Park.

Council members were not in agreement about where the sign should go, and if it should even be in the park, said Mayor Robb Bell.

“We all have a lot of questions and I don’t think we’re real comfortable with this … as it stands right now,” he said in requesting the item be tabled. “We’ll talk about this in the coming month and go from there.”

The proposal before council was to buy the sign from Blue Sky Sign Co. for $22,800, including installation. It would be paid through a $20,000 grant and the general fund. The city’s planning commission couldn’t reach a consensus about a location for it either, Bell said.

The sign would be similar to one recently installed outside of City Hall to advertise events and other matters in Greensburg.

Councilman Randy Finfrock is strongly opposed to the sign being in St. Clair Park. He’s concerned about the potential for vandalism and pointed to the planning commission’s inability to reach an agreement.

“It’s a big, garish promotional device that has no business in a park,” he said.

Bell agreed about the potential for vandalism and damage, especially if the sign is placed along Arch Avenue. That location is near a playground and not far from the road.

Parks and recreation superintendent Glenn Moyer said at council’s work session earlier this month that a marquee on the back of the Robertshaw Amphitheater at St. Clair Park currently is used to advertise events. There were discussions about replacing it with the electronic sign or putting it along North Maple Avenue, but the Arch Avenue location seemed to have the most visibility.

Allie Hickman, a designer at Blue Sky Sign Co., said at the work session it could be a welcoming feature on Arch Avenue as motorists come through a tunnel into the downtown area.

“I just don’t know how you stop vandalism on anything, I don’t know where you draw the line,” she said. “I do understand your concern with the vandalism, I just don’t know it’s any better putting it somewhere nobody would see it.”