City Fixing Entrance Sign

New Port Richey has an identity problem at the western entrance to downtown on Main Street, and city officials are working to fix it.

An unknown vehicle hit and damaged the monument sign that sits in a landscaped median on Main west of the bridge over the Cotee River, said New Port Richey Public Works director Sherman Applegate. The damage was done months ago, Applegate said.

Currently, the sign is blank and fractured. It's supposed to read “New Port Richey----Sister City of Cavailare sur Mer, France”, but the city removed the lettering and medallion so the sign “can be repaired, cleaned, primed and repainted,” Applegate said. Letters will be reattached and damaged ones will be replaced, he said.  

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The public works department is now giving it a facelift and replacing the damaged part, Applegate said.

The work is expected to be complete by the end of next week, Applegate said. It's costing $1,725 to replace the demaged section of the sign, Applegate said. The total cost of all the work being done now is $3,250, he said.

When asked why the sign is important, Applegate said it's at a gateway and is "a highly visible feature letting people know that they're entering downtown New Port Richey."

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Applegate said the monument is not a problem sign, but this also isn’t the first time it’s been in need of repairs.

Visitors passing it in early 2011 as they headed downtown could have been  The name was misspelled on the sign because an “N” and two “R”s had gone missing. City officials replaced the letters.

Applegate said the sign has also been hit by a vehicle before.

At least visitors won’t be completely lost while the sign is being repaired: A wooden sign welcoming folks to New Port Richey is still standing intact at the corner of U.S. 19 and Main.