Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2023 2:56 PM
To: Susan Harvey <[email protected]>; Laura Sparks <[email protected]>; Ben Ford <[email protected]>; Sylvia Lemus <[email protected]>; Kay Rivers <[email protected]>; Craig Scott <[email protected]>; Noah Housh <[email protected]>; Jon-Paul Harries <[email protected]>
Cc: Marie McNaughton >; John Dell'Osso < >
Subject: City Council mtg, 2/28/23: Agenda item 8C - Wayfinding Signage Project
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Dear City Council members
City Council meeting, February 28, 2023: Agenda item 8C: Acceptance of the Wayfinding Signage Project – Phase 2 (Kiosks) Project
I would like to offer some comments on item 8C even though it is on the Consent Calendar. I don’t wish to slow down the process of completing the Wayfinding Signage project, but I would like to have an opportunity to comment and if this means that this item be pulled from the Consent Calendar, I request that this be done.
1. The staff report states: The Wayfinding Signage Project (Project) work has been completed and is recommended for City Council acceptance.
The project is not 100% complete (as of this morning, anyway), as the sign at Pocket Park is still "the wrong way round"/”upside down”, and needs to be moved to the opposite side of the kiosk.
See photo: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LzPw3hZrFnRKbo8i9
On 9/5/22 I pointed out to City staff that several of the signs were the wrong way around, in that they would be sending pedestrians in the wrong direction, and that this could mostly be remedied by flipping the sign to the opposite side of the kiosk. Mr Harries agreed that several of the kiosk maps needed to be relocated to the opposite panel. This has been happening, but on 2/15/23 I pointed out that the one at Pocket Park is still incorrectly placed, and that was still the case as of this morning.
2. The staff report states: Note that the interpretive panels have not yet been finalized and installed due to lack of response from the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (FIGR).
In July 2021, the City Council was asked to approve the content of the interpretive signs sight unseen as at that point only a small amount of content had been created in draft form. There were problems with some of the drafts – inaccuracies and internal inconsistencies. I appreciate that around the same time, City staff reached out to me about potential content for the signs – text and illustrations – given my previous involvement with the creation of the three existing Cotati Creek Critter’s interpretive signs along the Laguna that were installed in 2009.
Marie McNaughton (Cotati Historical Society) and John Dell’Osso were also invited to offer input to the content, and did so. One of the major requests that Marie McNaughton and I made was that the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (FIGR) or other Coast Miwok representatives be asked for their input on the wording related to indigenous history and context. I also urged that the Laguna Foundation be approached for their input.
According to the minutes for the July 27, 2021 City Council meeting: Councilmember Ford requests more discussion on content and commitment from staff to bring the content to council for approval and include public input by posting drafts on the website. Mayor Moore and Councilmember Harvey request the item be agendized for further discussion upon completion of gathering input on the signage content from all involved parties.
I believe we were very close to getting finalized content for the signs at that point, and that with a bit of expert guidance on two or three specific questions, with a deadline, we should have been able to resolve this by now. I am sure that FIGR are getting many similar requests for their input these days. I don’t know the nature or timing of the communications between the City and FIGR but I understand from Marie McNaughton that she suggested other local indigenous experts too and provided their contact information. I don’t know if these opportunities were pursued. I remember staff mentioning that the signs were designed to be temporary and replaceable, so perhaps something acceptable could have been produced by now pending FIGR approval. At any rate, it seems disingenuous to lay the blame for so many months' delay at the door of FIGR alone.
I don’t want to complain about what has happened, so much as to guard against this amount of delay, confusion, and expense for any similar projects in the future. One thing I would suggest is that local expertise be brought on board as early in the process as possible, and that if possible a local construction company be used. I did suggest that staff approach KVO in Santa Rosa, the company that manufactured and installed the three Cotati Creek Critters signs in 2009, which have held up well, but they apparently never heard from the City. That 2009 project for three interpretive signs, which took a few months to complete, came to a total of $15,000, admittedly with plenty of volunteer contributions, including some pro bono design work, and with text, photographs and illustrations provided mainly by locals. I understand that this current project is of a much bigger scale and requires more expertise e.g. to produce the maps, and that professional expertise would be required for a City-sponsored project, but I still wonder whether in future we couldn't focus more on local input and local production.
I appreciate the enormous amount of work that has gone into this project thus far. I feel that the directional signs (Phase I) and maps (part of Phase 2) are very helpful especially for those who do not know the area well, and I look forward to seeing the whole project completed with appropriate interpretive panels when the content can be agreed.
Sincerely,
Jenny Blaker