The borough of Verona is located near Pittsburgh, on the banks of the Allegheny River. The borough was established almost exactly 150 years ago and is currently home to about 3,000 people.
Why New Signs? The borough currently has two small welcome signs, one at either end of Allegheny River Boulevard, the main road that runs through the town. These are painted wooden signs and are quite old. They also do not conform to current PennDOT regulations and will likely need to be removed within the next couple of years. So a group of volunteers, led by the Verona/Oakmont Rotary Club, has developed a plan to install two beautiful new welcome signs at the same locations as the existing signs, plus a third new sign on Wildwood Road.
Sign Design. The new signs will be made of 1/8" thick aluminum plate, with raised borders and lettering made of routed aluminum. Each sign will be mounted on 6"x6" painted wooden posts that are pre-drilled to break away, in conformance with current PennDOT safety regulations. These signs should last for decades without the need for maintenance. The entire sign plan has been reviewed and approved by PennDOT.
Community Input. The sign design was the result of intensive design work by the sign committee, and two surveys conducted over the last six months. The 72 survey responses that we received, plus input from Verona Borough Council, helped us decide on the final sign design. Key findings from the surveys were:
- 79% favored replacing the old signs, only 18% opposed.
- 53% wanted "Established 1871" as the tag line, compared with 12% for "Proud of Our Heritage" and 28% for the old tag line, "The Spot That's More Than a Dot."
- 81% liked the new sign design, only 15% didn't like it.
Project Costs. The sign committee put the project out for competitive bid. The winning bidder has done high quality work for many municipalities in the area. Their price is approx. $6500 per sign for removal of the old signs and installation of the new ones. There's also $100 to repaint and improve the train artwork. 100% of the money raised will go directly towards covering these costs.
Funding. This project will be funded entirely by donations. Three initial major donors are supporting the project: the Verona/Oakmont Rotary has committed $3,600, the Verona Chamber of Commerce has committed $2,000, and the Earth Volunteer Fund has committed $2,000. That will cover roughly half of the cost of the project. For the rest, we are counting on local Verona residents and businesses.
Please support this worthwhile project!
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How to Donate. There are three different ways that you can donate:
1. The easiest way is just to donate through GoFundMe. Use the Donate Now button on this page and pay online. The project will get 97% of your donation, with the other 3% going to GoFundMe in exchange for their services. Note that when you donate via this site, you will see a suggestion to give an additional 15% "tip" which goes to GoFundMe. This tip is optional. If you don't want to give the suggested tip, click the down-arrow next to the suggested tip amount, then choose "other", then enter the amount, if any, that you wish to give to GoFundMe. You do not have to give them a tip if you don't want to!
2. To save the 3% fee, you can donate directly to us. Use PayPal or Venmo to send your donation to j e f f p e p p e r 5 3 @ g m a i l . c o m and make a note that it's for the Verona Welcome Sign project. 100% of your donation will go towards the project. We will add your donation to the total here and marked as an "offline donation".
3. If you are making a larger donation and want to get a tax deduction, you can donate to the Rotary District 7300 Foundation. 100% of your donation will go towards the project. To do this, write a check to Rotary District 7300 Foundation and mail it to Verona Sign Project, P.O. Box 202, Verona PA 15147. We will get you a donation receipt for tax purposes, and will also add your donation to the total here and marked as an "offline donation".
All funds raised go towards the direct costs of this project, with no other fees or expenses deducted. A complete financial report will be provided upon request by any donor.
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Questions? Contact any of the following:
- Jeff Pepper, Project Coordinator -- j e f f p e p p e r 5 3 @ g m a i l . c o m
- Karyn Brooks, Rotary Club President -- k a r y n @ p i s a u s a . c o m
- Trish Hredzak-Showalter, Verona Borough Council Member -- p h r e d z a k @ v e r o n a b o r o u g h . o r g
Organizer
Jeff Pepper
Organizer
Verona, PA