Cd'A will pay to move sign

COEUR d’ALENE — The city of Coeur d’Alene decided earlier this week that it will pay to relocate the 20-year-old “welcome sign” near Memorial Field.

Previously, the city’s parks director, Bill Greenwood, told The Press the city didn’t have the budget to move the sign, so it was planning to dismantle the sign and store it until someone came forward to finance the relocation.

“The comments made by Greenwood were his own words,” said Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer in an interview on Friday. “It is the city project that requires the relocation, so it’s only fair that the city pay to relocate it.”

Still, members of the Coeur d’Alene Highway ID Sign Committee say they should be included in the discussions and decisions that are made regarding the sign.

“The service clubs raised the money to build that sign and they should have a say in what is going to happen to it,” said Paul Telebar, who worked with the rest of the committee for more than the four years it took to raise the money and secure a site for the sign.

The sign was erected on May 15, 1996, according to Lorna Wasson, who also sat on the committee.

The committee, which also includes Fritz Bohman, raised close to $17,000 to erect the sign and place it on property that was then privately held by Bob and Don Johnston.

Telebar said he was a code enforcement officer for the city of Coeur d’Alene at the time and worked closely with Mayor Ray Stone to make sure the sign was properly permitted and placed in a location that had a high visibility.

Bohman, Telebar and Wasson said they are concerned that the city has chosen to leave the service clubs out of the discussions because now it appears to be too late for them to have any substantial input on the new location of the sign.

The city plans to break ground on the realignment of Mullan Avenue between the City Park and Memorial Field. It is also building more parking in the area and wants to have that work completed by early summer.

“That’s not going to give the service clubs enough time to react to this,” Telebar said, adding the city should have contacted everyone involved in the creation of the sign when it first began the discussion on moving it. “They are messing with 90 percent of the fraternal organizations in town.”

Widmyer said he understands their frustrations, but he said time is of essence with the Mullan Avenue project.

“We need to move the sign in the next week to 10 days,” he said, adding the city plans to move the sign to the spot where the sign was going to be originally erected near the freeway.

The committee selected the Memorial Field location after the Idaho Department of Transportation would not allow the sign to be erected near the freeway.

“The new spot has a higher traffic count,” Widmyer said. “And it’s the original spot they wanted years ago.

“We think this is a good solution for everyone,” Widmyer added.

Telebar said the committee members were charged with maintaining the integrity of the sign, and they feel that responsibility is still theirs. He said over the years they have met to ensure only service organizations are allowed to sponsor the sign.

“When all of this is done and said, we are still the managers of that sign,” he said.