Posting of sign approved

Two months after voters approved a contentious ballot measure to build a new senior center in Central Park, plans to install a sign announcing the location of the center are sparking hot debate on the City Council. At its regular meeting Monday, the council approved erecting a sign by a vote of 4-3. Those for the sign said it is needed to clear up confusion about the location of the proposed center, and those against it called it a “bad idea” that snubs opponents of Measure T.

In November, Huntington Beach voters approved Measure T, a ballot initiative to build a new senior center on a five-acre parcel in the west end of the park. The measure, which passed by about 1,300 votes, was the most hotly contested item on the ballot.

Councilwoman Debbie Cook voted against the sign Monday and said it would serve nothing more than “putting a red flag in front of a bull.”

“It divides the community and it’s not smart to identify the site when the council hasn’t approved it yet,” she said. “I think it’s a bad idea.”

Although voters approved the measure, an environmental impact report and other studies must be conducted and approved by the council before construction of the center can begin.

Mayor Gil Coerper, who introduced the item at Monday’s council meeting, was supported by Councilwoman Cathy Green and Councilmen Keith Bohr and Joe Carchio. The sign will be tasteful and blend in with its surroundings, similar to the Shipley Nature Center sign, Coerper said.

The 8-by-6, two-sided sign will be installed at the intersection of Goldenwest Street and Talbert Avenue.

Green favored putting up the sign because people have been told the center will be built in different places in the park, she said. “I think it’s a good idea they know exactly where the project site will be.”

Council members Don Hansen and Jill Hardy disagreed.

“I see no point in a sign,” Hansen said. “Hopefully the voters know where it [the location] is — after all they voted for it.”

Maintaining the signboard and protecting it from graffiti painters and vandalism will present another set of problems, he said.