By Ashley McLeod, staff writer
Jan 15, 2016, 13:23
COLONIAL HEIGHTS — The city is taking a step to keep up with technology, and also to help communicate with the community about what’s going on in the city.
Colonial Heights City Council approved an ordinance at the Tuesday, Jan. 12 meeting, which will allow for the addition of two electronic message boards, which will be located in front of the library at 1000 Yacht Basin Drive, and in front of the courthouse at 550 Boulevard.
The special use permit approved by council allows for the construction of an approximately 19.29 square foot sign at the library which will include an LED message board for community members to be able to know about events going on in the city.
“One of the primary complaints we keep receiving from everybody is the inability and lack of being able to communicate what is going on in the community to the populous at large,” said Councilman John Wood at the meeting.
During a public hearing before the vote, one member of the community spoke to the council about her objection to the idea of a message board in front of the courthouse. Judge Bonnie Davis told the council that although she believes that the sign would be a positive addition to the city, the location of the sign should be questioned.
“An electronic sign does not complement the architectural style of our courthouse, which is a very nice, aesthetically pleasing building,” said Davis. “The courthouse style and the style of the electronic sign are completely incongruent. Putting an electronic sign in front of that beautiful, really nice, neoclassical building … it would be an anachronism. It would be like if we had a movie about Thomas Jefferson and we had him drafting the declaration of independence on an iPad. “
Davis also pointed out to the council that the sign may not fit into the serious atmosphere surrounding the courthouse, saying that an electronic sign does not keep with the dignified, serious tone of the courthouse.
Davis said that the serious matters decided in the court, which could be painful to victims’ families or witnesses, would be the opposite tone of what a digital sign would show. Davis believes the digital sign would diminish the work of the court.
“Those two things don’t go together, and I think it would be an insult to those people who are loved ones and family members who have very serious matters to conduct in that courthouse,” said Davis.
While Councilman Wood agreed with Davis on the architectural value of the courthouse, he also stated that the city must move forward in being current with technology.
“We have to move into the 21st century. That’s the era in which we live: an incongruous era where we have the foundation of the past upon which we must build for the future,” said Wood.
The current sign located at the courthouse was originally designed in two parts so that the electronic proponents could be added at a later date. If the electronic message board was not added and was instead constructed as a new sign altogether, the cost would be that of a new sign, and the current sign would need to be replaced according to Planning Director Scott Davis. The space for the electronics would need to be filled; otherwise, the sign would warp over time due to the gap.
“If we already have a sign, and it was designed for that particular purpose, and for us not to utilize it we’d have to weigh the costs of what it’s going to incur to place a sign elsewhere,” said Wood.
According to Councilman Kenneth Frenier, the cost to insert the electronic components and install the message board will be $8,000, while a brand new sign would be around $20,000.
“For us to on purely aesthetic grounds reject it is uneconomic and unwise,” said Wood.
All council members voted in favor of adding the electronic message boards, except Betsy Luck.
The electronic message boards will be used between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. and would be off during the night. They will also be programmed to dim and brighten automatically to adjust to the light outside for better viewing.
