Residents call Atwater ‘God’ sign ugly

Atwater’s “In God We Trust” signs are controversial again. This time, it’s because residents are calling one of them ugly.

“It’s tacky-looking. It’s embarrassing,” resident Linda Dash said during a City Council meeting this week. Dash, one of the residents who donated money for the sign, also used “awful” and “nasty” to describe it.

The roughly 10-foot-long blue sign that was placed above the entrance to City Hall last month drew the ire of several residents Monday.

The sign is marked with “In God We Trust” in white lettering and two American flags.

Mike Meroney, another Atwater resident, recommended the city use simple gold lettering to make the same statement on the front of the building without “throwing it at everybody that’s insulted by it.”

The signs were controversial from the start as some residents question the constitutionality of a sign that they argue endorses a religion. City leaders brushed aside those concerns pointing to other cities that have also adopted a sign.

Another resident who spoke during the Monday meeting, Eric Lee, said he didn’t like either the outdoor sign or the one that hangs next to the seal inside City Hall. “We need to bring City Hall back to a professional-looking building,” he said.

Of the $1,550 collected from donations to make the signs, $896 remains, according to City Manager and Police Chief Frank Pietro. The balance will allow the city get a second go at designing signs.

Pietro said city staff will come back to a future meeting with prototypes of a new design and ask for input from the donors.

Councilman Brian Raymond said since the signs were unveiled, a number of people have expressed a desire to be involved in the next version. “At the end of the day, it’s about the message,” he said.

Mayor Jim Price echoed the sentiments of the irked residents. “Whatever we do, it needs to be jazzed-up,” he said Monday.

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 6:44 PM with the headline "Residents call Atwater ‘God’ sign ugly."