Vandals have no love for Barrie’s landmark sign.
The Heritage Park sign was defaced overnight with the words and symbols “Dirty $” and “CLEAN HANDS,” with a circled X and the words “BUT LIES” on the nearby concrete pavement.
Coun. Mike McCann, who’s running for mayor in the Oct. 24 city election, raised the money needed to design and construct the sign — which has been called Heart Barrie or Love Barrie.
“Every city has ugliness and it’s disheartening when it shows up on something beautiful,” he said of the defacing Monday morning.
McCann said he doesn’t know who would deface the landmark sign.
“Someone immature and small thinking,” he told BarrieToday.
The Ward 10 councillor has said this sign is intended to unite Barrie — to help businesses by driving residents and visitors to the downtown and have them celebrate the city by being photographed with the landmark sign.
“The Love Barrie landmark sign is doing its job, showing that Barrie is a loving city and that we care about each other, ” McCann said.
“The philanthropists, council and community have pulled together and made this happen," he added. “This has been a gigantic success, has been celebrated and will be celebrated for many years.”
There has been some controversy with funds raised for the sign, however.
It cost $200,000, but a city memo says $375,000 was raised — although McCann has said it’s closer to $300,000. He has promised a full accounting of the funds, but has not produced one to this point.
“Financials will be provided once all expenses and money is in,” he said Monday morning.
A May 30, 2022 memo to Barrie councillors lists 12 $20,000 sponsors, 11 $10,000 sponsors and five $5,000 sponsors. That totals $375,000 for the fundraising campaign, although the memo doesn’t add up the contributions.
On June 28, 2021, city council passed a motion that any funds raised on top of the $200,000 for the Heart (Love) Barrie sign, where no donation receipts have been issued, be donated to save the beaver and save the turtle programs in the city.
This past June, McCann said he collected harmonized sales tax (HST) and sent it to the federal government. Also that he hired a professional accounting firm to prepare a spread sheet of money in and money out, which he would be sharing with the city’s finance department once all the money is collected.
The sign is located in Heritage Park, directly on the entry axis to the downtown waterfront park, as people come across Simcoe Street from Meridian Place.
Council added $15,000 to the city’s operations department budget, beginning this year, to cover costs of potential graffiti removal and winter maintenance on and around the sign.
Barrie city police said Monday morning the defacing has not been reported to them (as of 8:46 a.m.), and that police do not act unless it has been reported. It would need to be reported by the City of Barrie, since it is a city sign and on city property.
The city’s graffiti abatement program involves removing it as soon as possible.
