Photo: Gagandeep Ghuman
By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: Dec 9, 2013
Committees have been formed and discarded, reports have been written and blasted, people have wailed and groaned and moaned.
And it’s still nowhere to be found: The Squamish sign we lost three years ago in an accident.
When will we get it back up, or rather will there ever be one? Well, there are no definitive answers but please don’t lose patience.
Why, to help you get some answers, the district is forming another committee. [manual_related_posts]
Yes sir, crucial to the functioning of democracy, this is your very own sparkly new Brand Development Committee.
After all, it’s your hard-earned $65,000 that have gone a long way in hiring an American consultant who shall enlighten you about what he thinks about what you should think about how your town should look and why.
So, in the spirit of inclusion, this Rebranding committee will invite your comments, which means more meetings will have to be rescheduled, of course, and which means that more reports will need to be written, of course.
This fun, merry-go-round begins in January, when the consultants from Roger Brooks International begin gleaning from the public views on how to bran Squamish.
This exercise will take anywhere from 12 to 14 weeks, says the district spokesperson Christina Moore.
Once the consultant, err, the community has decided how we need to brand ourselves, we will have a template of how our welcome sign will look like.
So, be patient: In any case, the downtown entry sign is just one small component of the comprehensive signage program.
And of course, once the branding is done, the district will find the money to create the signage, which, in fact, was what the district planned last year.
This is what the district had to say this time last year:
“Budgeting is in mid-process and a 2013 budget will be presented to council to request funds for the first year of this project.”
No budget was allocated last year, but the district is willing to give $150,000 in 2015.
And of course (how dare you think delay?) that gives the district two more years to study the issue, set up a committee, write a few reports, not to mention give $65,000 of tax payers’ money to a consultant.
So, sit tight and be assured: Downtown signage has been a district priority for years and will remain so for years to come.
Penny says
Wouldn’t it be a lot less expensive to just replace the sign that was vandaled then destroyed in a car accident? It was a nice sign and it’s purpose was clear. I’ll take the $65000 for that bit of consulting AND with that $65 k I will replace the sign for us. Big of me, I know.
Dave says
Here is a “Rebrand”:
THE SQUAMISH VALLEY
EXPLORE AND ENJOY
Enough! Stop wasting money!
adam says
That’s too confusing as we already have a Squamish Valley. If someone booked the campground thinking it was in town but is out at Mile 17 it would be frustrating. Just put up the sign again as it was. It looked good.
Michael Enders says
No more money needed to be “wasted!” Enough is enough! Fix the sign… simple, done, period.
Barry says
prime sample why nothing happens here only more wasted money!!!
adam says
I totally agree. This town could be something great if we just got things done. I can’t believe how slow change is around here. We are all so nice and don’t want to hurt anyone feelings.
andy sweet says
Why not let the residents of Squamish come up with a new sign plenty of bright minds here….like the ones who hires americans to tell us how to do it
LArry McLennan says
A volunteer committee made up of various interest groups and a large pot of coffee should be able to re-brand or brand the area. Cost breakdown a few hours and $20 for the coffee.
Scott says
Has money for the replacement of the sign been received from ICBC ? If not, are they waiting for an invoice ? I wonder how easy it will be to get the money in following years when this whole thing has finally been resolved and decided on.
Wolfgang W says
Maybe material for another tale, based on the ‘Wise Men of Gotham’. Look up the legend in Wikipedia. There might be similarities with the good burghers of Gotham who did not want to have a public highway through their village and some of ours who do not want to give anyone an incentive to get off ours and stay a while.
I hope the Americans do not come up with the so familiar highway attraction signs on Hwy 101, ‘Turn back here, you missed it!”
Richard Tripp says
Squamish … Business as usual. It would be quite funny if it was isolated to the simple matter of a single sign.
Jason Bechard says
Ok, enough dicking around with this. Why doesn’t Squamish grow some cojones and put up a nice big ELECTRONIC sign. Think about it. Welcome to Squamish could be on various picture backgrounds of the sights in the Squamish area. The scenes would be changing constantly and locals could submit pictures to be used on the sign.
Lets stop being some backwoods redneck pit stop on the way to Whistler and show that Squamish is just as good if not better than anywhere else.
Wolfgang W says
Maybe we should hire the Squamish Nation as consultants. They have experience with this sort of signage.
heather gee says
Give me the $65,000 and I’ll share my easy, but logical suggestion.
Attach the signs to the two overpass pedestrian walkways along Highway 99, and nobody could miss them. Needless to say, paint them a bright red and please secure them adequately; this way, motorists won’t be able to aim at the signs and destroy them.
I agree with other comments in that we are shocked each time we hear that yet another consultant has been hired! There’s still time to correct the error, DoS.
bob says
Its almost worth on firefighter. How many lives will it save?
Nick Tattersfield says
the potential consultants fee plus the ICBC payout would nicely fund a design build competition by local craftsmen, let the concepts be displayed and voted on at several local gathering points. Then let it be done, local residents not a foreign consultant will vote for the best sign with “branding” in mind.
Craig says
Perfect sign would say (Squamish,we love Consultants). Or how about (Squamish we can’t make a Decision) . Or (Squamish, Whistlers gas station) or my personal favorite ( Squamish we hire other community’s problems).