Sign of the times
A string of new design and safety features have almost quadrupled the price of putting up welcome signs in Marlborough.
A campaign to replace the old ‘Love Marlborough’ signs dotted around the region began in 2015, when erecting the new ‘Only Marlborough’ signs cost $3000 each.
The council managed to replace 12 signs at that price before the cost jumped to between $10,000 and $12,000 per sign, blowing the council’s expected budget.
With 14 more signs to put up, the Marlborough District Council’s road signage kitty of $40,000 will be topped up with $100,000 from council reserves.
Council assets and services manager Richard Coningham said at a full council meeting on Monday a number of factors went into the cost, one being new standards following the November 2016 earthquake.
‘‘Health and safety is one of the measures that [the] Kaiko¯ura [earthquake] has caused.
‘‘There are also lot of design features that go into signs like being able to be hit with something solid and stand high winds,’’ Coningham said.
Council strategic planning and economic development manager Neil Henry said another consequence of the earthquake was new requirements over protecting fibre optic cables.
‘‘In the [2016] earthquake fibre optic cables that went down that [State Highway 1] road severed, so on the inland road [SH63] there is concern that could get severed as well,’’ he said. Special equipment was therefore needed to remove the dirt when putting the signs up, he said.
‘‘When they install the signs they extract the dirt with a suction machine which comes from Nelson,’’ Henry said.
Councillor Laressa Shenfield said the cost of the signs was ‘‘astronomical’’.
‘‘When I saw these figures of $10,000 to $12,000 for installing a sign I just thought that’s incredible,’’ Shenfield said.
However, councillor Trevor Hook was more understanding of the cost.
‘‘I agree with that [the costs being too high] but the sign is the small bit, it’s the installation of the sign that is going through the roof as far as costing is concerned and this is a consequence of the earthquake.
‘‘It’s not the printing or the development of the board or anything like that,’’ Hook said.
Marlborough’s deputy mayor Terry Sloan was more optimistic about the costs.
‘‘This is a budget, we don’t really no the true costs, it could come well under $100,000,’’ Sloan said.
New signs were still needed at Havelock, Seddon, Rai Valley, Wairau Valley and Ward.