43
Youngstown looking for firm to design signs
YOUNGSTOWN
City officials will hear presentations Wednesday from three firms vying to be selected to design “wayfinding” signs, primarily in the downtown area, to help people navigate through Youngstown.
The signs, and possibly kiosks, will let people know how to get to points of interest — including the Covelli Centre, Mill Creek MetroParks, city hall, Youngstown State University — and parking lots, said city Law Director Martin Hume.
Each firm will have 30 minutes for its presentation and then 15 minutes for questions. The public presentations start at 1:30 p.m. and is at the Covelli Centre’s conference room.
“If we proceed, this will be a positive, tangible step for the city,” Hume said. “These will be nice-looking signs that will create a brand for the city.”
City council authorized the board of control to spend up to $26,000 for the first phase of the project, which includes determining the locations of the signs and other preliminary plans, he said.
“We’re looking for a company for the initial planning process with no final commitment to do more than that,” Hume said. “We have to think in terms of out-of-towners, but it certainly would be useful to people in the community. You want to make everyone feel welcome and help them find where they need to go.”
None of the three proposals includes the construction or installation of the signs.
Some of that work could be done by the city’s sign shop, and the city will seek funding from nonprofits interested in the project, Hume said.
If the city follows through with this effort, the company selected would be involved in designing the signs and be involved in overseeing the installation.
The three firms, in the order in which they’ll make presentations Wednesday, are:
Corbin Design of Traverse City, Mich., which has done wayfinding signs for more than 60 cities, including Akron, Medina and Dayton in Ohio as well as Atlanta, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Tulsa, Kansas City and Oklahoma City.
Corbin’s cost for the initial phase is $12,360 with an estimated total cost of $56,340.
KMA Design of Carnegie, Pa., which has done signs for Carnegie, Sewickley, Pa., and seven counties in Pennsylvania as well as Manassas, Va.; Colchester, Vt.; Bristol, R.I.; and Durango, Colo. The company also did signs for three Forum Health locations in the Mahoning Valley, and PNC Park and the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.
The first phase cost is $10,775 with the full cost at $44,764.
Studio Graphique of Cleveland, which has done wayfinding signs for Lakewood, Kent, Xenia, and Cleveland’s University Circle and Tremont neighborhoods.
The cost of the first phase is $26,000 with the rest of the work at an additional $35,000 to $50,000.
The city received proposals from two other companies, but prefers to hear more from Corbin, KMA and Studio Graphique, Hume said.