By By GREG KATSKI
Community Editor
John Bartelt, general manager of the Golden Corral in Washington, is not sure how the U.S. Highway 17 bypass will affect his business on Carolina Avenue, but he does know that having some signage on the bypass to advertise the buffet restaurant will benefit it.
On Wednesday, Bartelt said he was going to mail a written request to the N.C. Department of Transportation regarding placement of a Golden Corral sign on the bypass.
Bartelt’s request comes in the wake of a informational meeting between DOT representatives and local business owners.
DOT’s Mary Moore led the meeting, held Tuesday evening at the Washington Civic Center. She reviewed the state’s two DOT-run highway-signage programs, the Logo Signing Program and TODS Program, focusing on minimum business requirements to take part in the programs and how to apply for a sign, respectively.
Businesses eligible for the Logo Signing Program include those that provide gas, food, lodging and camping services. Logo signs are the six-panel, blue signs along busy highways throughout the state. Separate, smaller signs attached to the larger, blue signs are used to advertise such niche services. Up to six businesses providing such services may advertise on a single, logo sign, according to Moore, logo-sign and TODS coordinator in the DOT’s Division 2.
Businesses must pay an annual rental fee of $300 per panel to be part of one of the blue signs. Typically, businesses rent a panel on blue signs located on each side of the highway and on exit ramps.
The minimum state requirements for a business to be eligible for a panel vary by service provided, but all must have appropriate licensing as required by law.
Gas and associated service providers must have a year-round operation of at least 16 continuous hours a day, seven days a week. These businesses also must have on premise restroom facilities and an attendant during business hours.
Food-service providers must have indoor seating for at least 20 people and a year-round operation of at least eight continuous hours a day, six days a week, while lodging-service providers must have at least 10 rooms for rent and be open year-round.
The program includes more requirements for various service providers. For more information about these additional requirements, contact Moore at 252-830-3940.
Businesses not eligible for the logo program include attractions such as museums, amusement parks, outdoor theaters, historic sites, public golf courses and agricultural facilities, according to Moore.
Panels on the logo signs set to go up along the U.S. 17 bypass will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis, she said.
Moore said the signs will be bid on locally and built shortly after the bypass is completed in spring 2010. Once the signs are in the design phase, DOT will contact the local businesses that sent letters of interest.
Chris Furlough, owner of Tranter’s Creek Resort &Campground, said he is interested in renting a logo panel and buying a TODS sign for his business close to the bypass.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity,” he said. “Our campground relates heavily to the Washington economy.”
Furlough, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, said it made sense for his campground to have a TODS sign because it’s tourist-oriented.
TODS is an acronym for tourist-oriented directional signing.
TODS signs are intended to help tourists find businesses of substantial interest and thereby promote tourism, according to a DOT written statement. TODS are only installed on at-grade intersections, where there is sufficient right of way and sight distance for sign placement. Contact Moore at 252-830-3940 for additional information on site-placement requirements.
“The DOT determines the eligibility and availability of (TODS) signs at any location,” Moore said.
Businesses must pay an annual fee of $200 per sign, according to the N.C. Administrative Code. Sign-fabrication costs are the responsibility of the participating business, according to DOT.
Moore said that businesses interested in the TODS program may contact her at the Division 2 office in Greenville.
“We can go ahead and start the process for that,” she said. “There will be a lot of adjustments.”
After attending the meeting, Jerry Evans, a real-estate broker and owner of Century 21 on Main Street, said he’s optimistic that the signage programs will have a positive effect on the local economy.
“I believe in the downtown historic district,” he said. “I hope people will come by, turn and go downtown to see how beautiful it is.”
Bartelt said he will remain cautiously optimistic about getting business from the bypass.
“I’m hoping for a good amount of traffic,” he said.
According to Bartelt, Washington has at least one thing going for it.
“There are not a whole lot of choices from New Bern to Williamston,” he said.