Ladysmith one step closer to finding photos for utility box wrap

 For future kiosks, the expenses would be the responsibility of the town at an average cost of $1,500-$2,000 per utility kiosk. Town of Ladysmith

The Town of Ladysmith is one step closer to beautifying five utility kiosks.

At a council meeting on April 2, council had the chance to select from 15 photos, five which would be wrapped on five utility kiosks around the town.

The kiosks are located in residential neighbourhoods, on the corner of  Symonds St. and 4th Avenue, the corner of Gatacre St. and 3rd Avenue, the corner of Methuen St. and 2nd Avenue, the corner of Bayview Ave. and Gilford Road, and on the corner of Davis Rd. and Farrell Road.

A report from staff said the wrapping of utility kiosks “is commonplace in communities and can enhance the streetscape, promote opportunities for education and conversation and help create a sense of identity for the surrounding neighbourhoods.”

The photo options consist of historical and landscape images of the town. 

The current expenses for the installation will be covered by F3 Networks Canada Inc. For future kiosks, the expenses would be the responsibility of the town at an average cost of $1,500-$2,000 per utility kiosk. 

While council was choosing their favourite images to each kiosk location, councillor Duck Paterson, brought up that although he thinks wrapping the kiosks is a fantastic idea, he does not see any of the historical photos being good fits for any of the locations.

“The reason being is, first of all, when we do the downtown area, historical photos would tie in more with our heritage walk and the artifacts,” Paterson said. “I don't believe you're going to see too many tourists walking along Symonds and 4th, and Gatacre and 3rd.”

He said he hopes to save the historical images for outlying downtown kiosks that could be wrapped in locations that better reflect the images.

As well, Paterson said he would like to stay away from an option that includes fireworks, as Ladysmith residents are not always keen on them. 

“The photo with the fireworks I would rather not see us use,” he said. “Mainly because fireworks right now are kind of um, a lot of people aren't fussy about them, and any chance of promoting them, even though I love them, might not be a good idea.”

Councillor Tricia McKay agrees with Patterson that if more kiosks get wrapped, there should be an effort to tie in the past with the present. 

“Like for instance, the one that's up at the top of the hill by the hospital, wouldn't it have been great to have a picture of one of our old hospitals go on and wrap on that box. So that kind of a tie-in so that they're relevant to the location,” McKay said.

Mayor Aaron Stone said although he agrees that some of the historical images would be nice downtown, that is not the decision being made.

“But out of these photos, I really like all of the heritage ones, the canoe and the beach and, and the old building. You know, we had the thought of turning these into sort of like interpretive signage in a way is really cool,” Stone said. “But that's not what we're doing here, we're just putting photographs on boxes in more residential areas of town.”

As council was having a hard time picking photos, Paterson suggested a motion for staff to pick the five after hearing the discussion of council.

Allison McCarrick, Chief Administrative Officer noted there was an alternative presented by staff for council to direct staff to choose the designs for the current five utility kiosks.

McKay and councillor Marsh Stevens agreed that the alternative motion was a good idea. 

Based on council discussion, Stevens noted that staff had to pick more current-day images for the boxes and keep the historical options for other locations.

The motion to direct staff to choose the designs for the five utility kiosks passed unanimously.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.