By Rich Pollack
When Highland Beach leaders decided that the town’s aging entryway signs on State Road A1A needed to be replaced, they agreed to ask residents for ideas.
Like their counterparts in many other small communities, Highland Beach commissioners have continuously sought ways to get more townspeople involved and with that in mind the concept of an Entry Sign Design Contest was born.
The idea, however, came with a bit of a risk.
What would they do if only a handful of entries were received, commissioners wondered, or if none of the entries measured up to their expectations?
Late last month, they found out that their gamble paid off as they weeded through more than 30 suggested designs and whittled them down to just five.
Now comes the real test of what might be the closest you can come to small-town democracy at its finest as the town asks residents to vote for their favorite design.
“The turnout for the voting will be indicative of just how successful the community engagement effort is,” says Vice Mayor Natasha Moore, who shepherded the contest for the commission.
From now until the end of the month, residents have a chance to vote on the design they think will best represent the town to those entering on A1A from Boca Raton or Delray Beach.
Residents who are already signed up to receive emails from the town should have received a ballot of sorts with images of each of the five finalists selected by the commission.
Those who aren’t on the mailing list can go to the town’s website and sign up. Once they do, they will receive the ballot and can select their favorite design.
A third option is for residents to visit Town Hall where they will have an opportunity to make their selection.
The contest is open only to Highland Beach residents and there is only one vote per person.
Moore said that she was not only pleasantly surprised by the number of designs received but also by the quality and creativity put into them.
“We were really pleased with the submissions we received,” she said. “It is really telling of how much people care about the town and how much they want to contribute to its look and feel.”
For commissioners, selecting the five finalists was a challenge, Moore said, since they have a variety of tastes.
Some favored the more corporate-looking submissions while others favored the more creative approaches.
In the end, the decision will be left up to residents who vote on the winner.
The creator of the winning design will receive little more than bragging rights and perhaps a plaque with his or her name at each entryway acknowledging the contribution — along with the town’s gratitude.
In other news, Town Manager Marshall Labadie last month reported that Highland Beach had received long-sought information from Delray Beach about how charges for contracted fire rescue services were calculated.
Labadie added that the town still had questions about the methods used to calculate town costs as it sorted through the financial information and planned to send a letter to Delray outlining those issues.
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