Big white thingydo on Huron Street (6 photos)

City Council will be asked Monday to approve spending $36,400 for a big Sault Ste. Marie sign on Huron Street to greet visitors to Canada.

The proposed sign at the northeast corner of Huron and Queen will consist of the city's name spelled out, not in steel, but in white concrete letters with a red concrete maple leaf at the end.

Funding for the project has been approved and the work is to be done this summer.

If our municipal planning staff gets its way, the local landmark won't be fabricated here.

In a report to Mayor Provenzano and councillors, Stephen Turco of the city planning department is recommending that the job be awarded without obtaining competitive quotes, to Ed's Concrete from Stratford, Ontario.

"Although there are a number of local contractors, most provide concrete products for civil or construction-related projects," Turco said.

"Due to the size of the letters and the leaf, and the artistic and structural design of the features, it was necessary to identify a fabricator that could both engineer and construct these elements."

The Stratford company specializes in concrete landscaping products.

"Ed's Concrete can both engineer and fabricate the products, and have experience in providing landscape products used in urban settings," Turco said.

"Planning staff  have been in contact with the City of Brampton, which has experience working with Ed's Concrete. Their staff praised both the quality of work and timeliness with completion."

The project design specifies that the concrete letters be bright white to contrast with the surrounding trees.

"Ed's Concrete is able to provide the concrete in this specialized white colour," Turco said.

The company would apply an anti-graffiti coating to the letters and the maple leaf.

Design concepts show the words GIDANAMIKAAGO, WELCOME and BIENVENUE on the base underneath the big concrete letters.