Attractive and easy-to-follow signs will soon guide drivers to the best places in Oak Harbor.

What’s more, the signs will themselves be signs that the city is moving forward with implementing an extremely ambitious plan for improving the waterfront and downtown areas.

Last week, a sign committee from the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce presented the City Council with the sign plan and asked the city to implement it.

The 10 members of the committee and city Senior Planner Rob Voigt worked on the plan over the last 16 months and donated a total of 640 volunteer man-hours to the project.

Putting in new signs in the city is a top priority in tourism consultant Roger Brooks’ $32-million “Waterfront, Redevelopment, Branding and Marketing Program.” He said the current sign system in the city is unattractive, inconsistent and often confusing.

Downtown merchants also say they would love to see new, eye-catching signs, especially ones that direct folks from Highway 20 to Pioneer Way. Also, they want signs that direct drivers to all the easy, free parking that’s available behind Pioneer Way businesses.

Fortunately for the city, the Chamber of Commerce recognized the problem long before Brooks was hired. A committee was formed to work with city staff and create a comprehensive plan.

The plan contains an analysis of the existing types of signs in the city; recommendations for a hierarchy of signs; uniform design characteristics; and a plan for identification of key points of interest in the downtown and waterfront.

Brooks said the work by the committee saved the city “tens of thousands of dollars of consulting fees.”

Members of the committee are Joel Servatius, Marcia Van Dyke, Paul Neumiller, Nora O’Connell-Balda, Dee Breilein, Barbara Bockman, Randy Bradford, Rick Bell, Sue Sebins and Priscilla Heistad.

The next step is for the city to hire a firm to draw the final designs and another firm to manufacture the signs.

Development Services Director Steve Powers said the city put out the request for proposals this week for companies interested in doing the work. The city has also been in touch with local sign companies companies in Western Washington.

“We’re casting out net fairly wide,” he said, “to make sure we find people with expertise in this area.”

Brooks estimated that final design and fabrication of about 70 signs will cost $45,000. In his proposed budget, the money will come from lodging taxes.

Councilwoman Sue Karahalios said she was grateful to the Chamber for the plan, but she complained that the city isn’t moving very quickly with implementing Brooks’ plan. She said it’s been two months since the council adopted the plan and the excitement is wearing out because nothing visible has happened.

“We’re dwaddled,” she said, coining a new word, “and we do need to move forward.”

You can reach Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or 675-6611.