No 'Love La Conner' sign at Gilkey Square

A colorful Love La Conner “selfie station” at Gilkey Square is an idea whose time has come.

And gone.

That was the unanimous sentiment expressed by La Conner Town Council last week.

At their Nov. 22 hybrid meeting, members nixed the design for a marketing icon at the downtown waterfront location, saying the timing is no longer right for such promotional signage.

“It was conceived during COVID-19,” Councilmember Rick Dole explained. “La Conner was empty during what would have been the height of tourist season. We’ve passed the worst of times. Its time has probably come and gone.”

The sign’s estimated $20,000 price tag was covered by hotel-motel tax revenues, earmarked for tourism promotion.

Dole’s assessment defined the consensus Council response to a power point presentation by John Leaver and John Durgin promoting a design of a structure standing shorter than four feet and comprised of flower boxes and local images extending about five feet in length. It is based on “Love La Conner” signage placed by the Chamber of Commerce was well received during the pandemic.

Leaver gained funding approval for a larger structure in 2021. Durgin, co-owns Katy’s Inn,

“Social media is a big deal,” said Durgin. “This is what people do these days.”

The two had obtained signatures of nearly three dozen members of the La Conner business community.

A group of residents maintained their objections.

Photographer Nancy Crowell read a letter from library board member Jim Airy. He termed it a “wrongheaded project” and “promotional cliché” and suggested the funds be used for street fairs and related public events rather than “a gimmick that doesn’t fit the setting.”

Maggie Wilder, reading from a letter signed by herself and three other residents associated with the La Conner arts community, called it an “ill-conceived project” that “detracts from La Conner’s image.”

Resident Chris McCarthy said it would be better to use the funds to educate the public on what the community has to offer and enhance safety features for tourists like improved sidewalks and lighting as opposed to investing in a sign she called “so dated and so commercial.”

Councilmember Ivan Carlson agreed the promotional moment had passed.

Councilmember Annie Taylor agreed that safety should be prioritized and wondered if wall murals might be a better option for local tourism promotion.

“I don’t know,” Taylor said. “We’ve got to come up with something else. This is not it.”

Other discussion

Mayor Ramon Hayes asked that attendees observe a moment of silence for the four slain University of Idaho students. He said that Jim and Stacy Chapin, the parents of one of the victims, Ethan Chapin, who grew up in Conway and graduated from Mount Vernon High School, are now La Conner residents.

Dole said the next in a series of Council communications committee town hall meetings is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 21. It will be at the La Conner Retirement Inn. “We want the residents of the Retirement Inn involved,” said Dole.

Town Finance Director Maria DeGoede said “not a whole lot of changes” have been made to the 2023 budget. She and Public Works Director Brian Lease reported Maple Hall is in dire need of a new heating/cooling system. The system, which dates to the late 1990s, required $4,000 in repairs last year, Lease said.

Estimated cost of a new system is $85,000. “Can we squeeze one more year out of the present system?” Dole asked. “We did that this year,” Lease responded.

“It’s not a crisis,” assured Hayes, “but we do have to be selective on what we fund and how we do it.” Hayes has said the Town is facing major long-term infrastructure expenses, including replacement of the Skagit Beach water line at Channel Drive and mandated upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant.