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| Pescaderans aim to erect town sign By Greg Thomas [ greg@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Friday, November 20, 2009 2:15 PM PST The vast expanse over which South Coast residents live makes in-town communication tricky in Pescadero. A number of people are without an Internet link and live in places where cell phone coverage doesn’t reach, creating a physical barrier between announcements and residents in the outer reaches. “The topic comes up again and again,” said Heather McAvoy, La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District president. “Improving communication is a district goal – it has been for a couple years.” A simple marquee, strategically placed next to the only stoplight in town, might be the answer. Community leaders are carving out a design for such a sign to display emergency preparedness information, school functions, local events and other announcements. At first, the discussion included the possibility of an electrified liquid crystal display framed by wood that would make for easy uploading of information. But the idea was quickly pulled when planners considered the long-term costs and acknowledged the irony of that kind of technology in rural Pescadero. “It can’t be (electronic). There’s no way we could afford it,” said Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council Chair Catherine Peery. “Besides, this is Pescadero!” The council also aims to avoid the community bulletin board-style installation that sat at the intersection for years and proved virtually useless. A 4-foot by 8-foot steel-encased marquee with removable plastic letters has been proposed. It would be stationed at the intersection of Stage and Pescadero Creek roads – adjacent to the post office. It would sit about eight feet tall. Cost is estimated at $5,200. PMAC, Pescadero Education Foundation, Puente de la Costa Sur, the school district’s Parent Teacher Association and Viking Boosters have signed on to contribute about $1,000 each to the project. Pescadero Education Foundation President Helena Pisani is leading the initiative. She is looking for commitments from two additional stakeholders. Each group would have access to the sign, and would coordinate through Peery, who is volunteering to manage postings. Logistical loose ends include prioritizing limited space on the sign, the Spanish-English language barrier, and sign aesthetics. “The devil is in the details, as they say,” Peery said. PMAC is hosting a discussion of the sign, including some concepts of form and function, at its meeting Dec. 8. |