As Peachtree City has gotten older, some subdivision entry signs have started to show their age.
The city is responsible for maintaining 171 such signs, and private homeowners associations maintain the other 41.
The older, deteriorating signs aren’t improving themselves, and as usual there are no easy answers short of the city hitting a lottery jackpot.
The rough signs detract from the city’s appearance, but the question is: how should the city proceed with getting them replaced?
Several options have been bandied about, and the city is seeking citizen input via a short two-question survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RQHGWN5.
Among the options on the survey are:
• Maintaining and replacing existing city-owned signs as needed;
• Setting a dollar limit per sign or neighborhood for maintenance or replacement (example – $3,000 per neighborhood every five years);
• Replacing deteriorating signs with a standard sign (uniform size and materials);
• Making sign maintenance the responsibility of each neighborhood, inspecting the signs annually, and removing signs that fall into disrepair;
• Allowing neighborhoods to alter or upgrade signs and maintain them through an approval and maintenance agreement process; and
• Completely removing neighborhood signs as they age.
Complicating the matter is the wide variety in subdivision signs, as some neighborhoods have distinctive models that will be costly and difficult to repair and/or replace, according to city Community Services Director Jon Rorie.
If the city ends up having to replace the signs, a good choice might be using a single three-foot by three-foot brick column that would cost around $3,000 but would last a long time, Rorie suggested to council at its March 20 meeting.
It’s also possible that the city could contribute a set amount towards sign replacement, if the subdivision wants to have a nicer, more ornate sign instead. In such an instance, the city would have to make the homeowners association responsible for maintenance of the sign, Rorie noted.
