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Members of the city council’s finance, licensing & regulation committee unanimously rejected a proposed agreement with Innovation Design LLC, in Gladwin, Michigan, Feb. 16, to install tee marker signs with advertisements in the city’s disc golf course located in Dunn Field Park near Sage Street.

The board of park commissioners recommended the proposed agreement to the finance committee, Dec. 21, 2021, by a 3-2 vote. The agreement still has to be voted on by the full city council.

As part of the proposed agreement, the city would allow Innovation Design to sell advertisements on tee signs that would be installed in the disc golf course.

Innovative Design would retain 100% of the profits from the advertisements, and the city would have use of the signs.

Representatives from Innovative Design would provide the signs, which would be installed by city staff within seven days after the signs are delivered.

Innovative Design would be responsible for maintaining the signs, but the city would be responsible for any damage, vandalism or theft that would occur to the signs.

The agreement would be for five years, which would be renewed for another five years if it is not terminated.

Peg Esposito advised the finance committee members to send the agreement back to the park board for further review.

“I really hope you guys look at the agreement and consider, perhaps, not agreeing to this,” Esposito said. “Send it back to the park board. Make us work out the details at least.”

Esposito said there is several aspects of the agreement that she does not agree with including that it would renew for another five years if it is not canceled.

“The way our staff turns over, who is going to look into that?,” Esposito said. “I guess that’s up to the park board.”

Esposito said she also does not feel advertisements should be placed in city parks.

“People are bombarded by ads everywhere,” Esposito said. “It seems to me that our city parks should be a place where the public can go and be free from advertising and in touch with nature, just to be able to enjoy the environment, and these signs are all going to have ads on them and I don’t like that idea.”

Alderman Ken Howell said instead of sending the agreement back to the park board for further review, he would prefer to just vote against it.

“I’m not sure if sending it back to the park board covers everything,” Howell said. “Myself, I would rather just say ‘no’ to this.”

Alderman John Halverson said he also is against advertisements being posted in city parks.

“I’m against mixing any advertisement with city government,” Halverson said. “It doesn’t make sense to continue this in any form.”