NORWICH – Members of the City Parks Commission, along with Mayor Joseph Maiurano, gathered in Weiler Park Monday evening for their annual tour and to recognize local artists Julian Button and Robert Wightman for their work in designing the City of Norwich signs.
The task of installing the city signs began nearly two years ago, when the Parks Commission sought a way to officially welcome people into the city. Button, who also designed the city logo depicting the train watch tower outside City Hall, was asked to draw the design for the new signs. Wightman, of Signs by Wightman, brought the design concept to a reality and set the signs at the North and South end of the city last fall.
Scrolling the bottom of each sign are the words: Finance; industry; agriculture; music; and the arts.
“We tried to come up with the words that best described Norwich; those are it,” said Parks Commission member Gilbert Harrington.
“A lot of the things we do in the city can be attributed to volunteers in the city. Their hard work is what brings ideas to fruition,” the Mayor said during the ceremony. “This sign is another step forward in honoring the city and it symbolizes a way of saying that we’re open for business.”
The commission then traveled to all six parks located in the city, noting what work needed to be done to beautify each one, making each park and playground safer and more enjoyable for community members.
“Anything that needs to be done, we’ll do it,” explained commission member and city DPW Assistant Superintendent Mark Williams. “With the money situation the way it is, we do what we can with what we have, but we try to be there for the public. We want to keep each park looking nice.”