Whitehall council approves new welcome sign

Those driving into Whitehall from the north will be greeted with a new sign after the Whitehall city council approved a welcome sign design proposed by the Whitehall Area Chamber of Commerce.

Brandi Berg addressed the city council on behalf of the Chamber during last Tuesday’s regular meeting, explaining that the current sign was deteriorating rapidly. The Chamber originally planned to install signs on all three highway entrances to the city, but members recently learned that the city’s only remaining welcome sign needs to be replaced soon.

“Earlier, the Whitehall Chamber requested the flower bed removed because it was becoming so overgrown that we couldn’t see the sign,” Berg said, adding that once the flower bed was removed, Chamber members saw that the sign was in worse shape than they thought. “Recent storms have managed to cause further damage to the Welcome to Whitehall sign, which bumped it up as a priority.”

She said she has received messages about the condition of the sign, which she said is “falling apart.” The city used to have a sign welcoming traffic from Independence, but that was taken down by a storm. City Clerk Karen Witte said city employees attempted to put that sign back up, but it was too deteriorated. 

Berg said the Chamber has agreed to pay for the new sign, which will be the same size as the current sign, but will feature a new design. The new sign will be vinyl with raised lettering. She said they hope to include an outgoing message for those leaving the city limits to see. The Whitehall Lions Club is also assisting with the project. 

“We are grateful to the Lions and Chamber for pitching in,” Mayor Jeff Hauser said. 

The Chamber still has plans to install signs for motorists coming from Independence and Blair. Those signs will match the sign approved by the city council last week, but can’t be installed yet. Berg said a new permit would likely have to be issued by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for the other signs. 

Berg questioned when the old sign could be removed, and council members said they’d like to keep it up as long as they can. 

“Something is better than nothing,” council member Bob Sendelbach said. 

Witte told the council that, while the Chamber and Lions Club are paying for and handling the installation of the signs, they are covered by the city’s insurance. Later in the meeting, Police Chief Eduardo Hernandez told the council that there have been issues with speeding in that area.