Board approves funding authority for summer street-lamp banners after Arts Commission presentation

The Sanpoint Urban Renewal Agency board voted on March 3 to approve the Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation Commission's request to proceed with a summer street-lamp banner project and related art call.

Ellie Sustness, chair of the commission, said the banners "add color and vibrance to the heart of downtown" and proposed a seasonal theme (rather than a single-year design tied to the semiquincentennial) that could be reused in future summers. She told the board Kodiak Advertising estimated about $42 per 16-by-30 banner for a run using the same artwork and recommended buying banners for every other pole (about 25 banners) to reduce initial costs.

Commissioners asked about bracket availability, retrofitting poles and the cost difference between a single, repeated design and a dynamic, multiple-artwork run. Sustness said a dynamic artwork run would raise costs substantially, possibly nearly doubling per-unit pricing, and that the commission planned a $250 stipend for winning artists.

A motion to accept the commission's proposal was moved and seconded on the record and the board voted in favor. Commissioners instructed the commission to report back if the group elected a more expensive, dynamic seasonal approach so the board could review the higher cost before purchase.

Parks staff will install the banners when purchased; commissioners also discussed adding banners to additional corridors as brackets are located or retrofitted.