Council reviews 'Project Sign Me Up' gateway‑signage plan; members favor mixed materials and ask staff to refine priorities

Susie Victor, assistant director for economic and community engagement, presented 'Project Sign Me Up,' a multi‑phase effort to create a cohesive package of gateway, park and wayfinding signs for Saginaw. Victor described an approach of workshops, concept designs and phased implementation tied to budget priorities.

"The goal is to create one uniform package so staff know what to order and what the design looks like," Victor said, explaining categories (gateways, parks, facility navigation) and showing examples and material options including brick, concrete, wood, metal and mixed materials.

Council feedback favored a mixed‑materials look that could include distressed metal and stone, selective archways at signature locations and backlighting for nighttime visibility. Members stressed the importance of context‑sensitive signs — choosing different types for major arterials, neighborhood collectors and park entrances — and suggested benchmarking nearby cities for ideas and avoiding copies of neighboring designs.

Victor walked through primary (high‑traffic) and secondary gateway locations derived from the 2022 comprehensive plan and staff said they can update gateway priorities using traffic counts and resources from TxDOT and NCTCOG. Council members asked staff to review recent road changes (for example, Basswood Boulevard) before finalizing priority locations.

A public commenter (Benjamin) urged the council to incorporate local icons such as grain elevators and train imagery, recommended locally sourced materials and offered to provide photo examples from other cities.

Victor said staff will collect additional cost estimates, refine the master thoroughfare plan as requested and return with prioritized locations and design concepts for future council review.