Board OKs Downtown East Liverpool Painting Project
EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio – The city’s Design Review Board has approved an application for a certificate of appropriateness, giving the go-ahead for downtown historic lampposts to be painted.
The recently formed East Liverpool Beautification Society submitted the application, seeking approval for local company Pro Vision Painting to paint the 167 lampposts installed during the 1980s as part of the Fawcett Project spearheaded by local businessman Marc Hoffrichter.
According to beautification society co-chairpersons Mary Beth Jones and Janie Smith, the posts have deteriorated over the years, showing rust and peeling paint, and some have begun to look “tacky” and “not appropriate” to the attractive downtown their group envisions for the city.
Jones said several of the posts also have “no parking” signs drilled into them, and she would like to see those removed, with the resulting drill holes repaired before painting.
Along with lampposts, the painting project will also include the kiosk in Devon’s Diamond where notices and announcements can be posted, as well as a matching clock in front of the Sturgis House Bed and Breakfast on Fifth Street.
Beautification society members and the board also discussed refurbishing a second matching clock located at the intersection near Sixth Street and Broadway, which was named in honor of Hoffrichter. The clock face and workings are no longer present in the clock, and Mayor Bobby Smith, who is a member of the Design Review Board, said it quit working and was thrown away during the past administration.
Although not on the application for approval, the board also discussed the possible inclusion of light poles located throughout the downtown since they are painted the same color as the lampposts.
During the administration of former Mayor James Swoger, lights in the lampposts were changed to LED bulbs, and Smith said the glass will need to be cleaned to make the painting project look its best.
The cost for painting the lampposts is $11,500, plus about $1,000 for the paint. Jones said the beautification society received a grant from Heritage Thermal Services, is anticipating a monetary gift from East Liverpool City Hospital and will apply for a grant from the Fawcett Foundation.
The beautification society is currently waiting for IRS approval of its 501(c)3 nonprofit status, after which it will be better able to accept donations from the public, according to Jones.
The group recently spearheaded a project to have all downtown hydrants painted, which resulted in many donations of red paint. Milligan Hardware has offered to let the beautification society exchange any excess red paint for the black satin paint earmarked for the lamppost project, Jones said.
“We think this will make one of the biggest differences in the downtown in a long time,” Jones said of the lamppost painting project.
Board member Scott Shepherd commended Jones for her tenacity in getting the project underway.
Board member Mark Hissom said the lamppost project is “wonderful.”
Smith said the beautification society “decided from the beginning we were not putting Band-Aids on things; we were doing it right.”
Jones said the project is expected to take a couple weeks. The painting has to be coordinated with taking down the veterans banners, which hang on the posts throughout the city.
Veterans representative Bill Ash said at last Monday’s City Council meeting that 490 banners are now on display and will be taken down for the painting. The banners, which are generally on display through Veterans Day, will be put back up when the project is completed.
The Design Review Board voted unanimously in favor of the beautification society’s proposal, with member Susan Weaver absent and excused.
Pictured at top: One of the historic lampposts in downtown East Liverpool.
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