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Bethanne seeks council adoption of downtown wayfinding signage plan for Jackson City
Summary
Presenter Bethanne asked the Budget Committee to forward a downtown wayfinding signage design and engineering package to city council for adoption; the plan recommends 32 signs, an estimated $155,000 price tag for downtown signs and clarified the city would own and maintain installed signs while insurance and placement on state routes require coordination.
Bethanne, speaking to the Jackson City Budget Committee, asked the committee to forward a downtown wayfinding signage design and engineering package to the city council for adoption and bidding. She said the plan recommends about 32 signs for downtown — a mix of vehicular and pedestrian signs — and that engineering documents are ready to go.
Why it matters: if the council adopts the design, the city would be the owner and responsible for ongoing maintenance of installed signs. Bethanne said the downtown-only portion of the plan is currently estimated at about $155,000, with $50,000 already secured from a downtown improvement grant and a potential state tourism enhancement grant application that could provide up to $100,000 in July.
Bethanne also told the committee that the chamber and Visit Jackson helped fund an $80,000 wayfinding study that produced the plan. "There would be ownership of these signs, ongoing maintenance if something were to happen to a sign," Bethanne said, flagging the city responsibility for repairs and upkeep.
Committee members raised practical concerns about insurance and placement. One committee member observed that, from an insurer’s perspective, the signs would be treated like road signs and could be more expensive to replace; that member added, "we could still try to collect from [an at‑fault driver]" if a sign were hit. Bethanne said she had already consulted TDOT about placement on state‑maintained routes and was revising sign specifications (letter size, reflectivity) to meet state requirements.
Funding and next steps: Bethanne said some larger gateway signs would be fundraised through the chamber and that the project could proceed in phases if full funding is not available immediately. She plans to present the adoption request to the full city council on Tuesday. The committee did not take a funding vote; members asked Bethanne to share the plan documents digitally for their review.
The council consideration on Tuesday is the next procedural step; if council adopts the design the city would move to bid and phased installation dependent on grant awards and fundraising.
