I read with interest your article on the front page of The Press on Monday, Aug. 22, regarding the proposed monument sign at the intersection of Northwest Boulevard and Hubbard Street for the entrance to the new Higher Education Corridor. While I appreciate the intention of the North Idaho College trustees to create an attractive and impressive entryway for such an important aspect of the community, I think that this design could be improved upon in several ways, and the article raises some questions, too.

1) The article refers repeatedly to one sign. Is there a matching sign planned for the other side of the intersection? Does the $160,000 price tag include two signs or just one?

2) Why would the trustees contract with a landscape architecture firm to develop a sign design? Wouldn't this job be more appropriately directed to a qualified sign company?

3) While the general look of the artist's rendering is pleasing, the contour of the monument section that is being created is asymmetrical and might very well appear awkward when constructed. The monument includes a straight section and a concave section. Neither section presents its sign portion to the viewing motorists very well. If the entire section were simply a convex curve which more or less followed the radius of the intersection, it would present its message to motorists at a wider variety of angles for longer periods of time.

4) The lettering portions of the monument are quite low and would likely be obscured by snow during most winters.

5) The sign panels within the larger monument area do not appear to have any color distinction from the monument as a whole. The monument is a neutral earth tone, which contributes to its pleasing look, but neutral, medium-value colors are poor choices for sign backgrounds because there are no lettering colors which will have good contrast, and the signs will look washed-out and be difficult to read as a result.

6) While no dimensions are given, it looks like this monument is considerably larger than would be permitted under the current sign code, and, therefore would require an amendment to the code or an application for a variance to be acceptable.

7) The seven flags appear to be placed asymmetrically, and the American Flag is on a taller flagpole and off-center with the others. I know that there are fairly rigid conventions regarding the display of official flags, and I would recommend that this aspect of the design be carefully researched to make sure that all applicable protocols are properly observed.

8) The $160,000 quoted price seems quite high, even if it includes two monuments, particularly for a design of questionable merit.

I would suggest that the NIC trustees consider these points and do more research before committing to this project.

JEFF CONNAWAY

Silver Creek Signs Inc.

Cd'A Sign Board