Niles Getting New Sign For Plaza

The empty space on the entrance plaza to Niles village hall, which was earlier the site of controversy, is going to be filled.

Earlier:

The village board voted Tuesday night to approve a sign bearing the pictured design. A committee consisting of Rosemary Palicki, a trustee, George Alpogianis, a former trustee, and Tom Kanelos, chair of the Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals, met for months and considered more than one design.

Palicki told the board the committee was only charged with designing the sign, but they had the idea to propose having the village sponsor a contest for a high school student to design a companion artwork which would embody the idea of family, in a nod to the village's Bloomberg-Business Week award for the "Best Place in the U.S. to Raise A Family."

Trustee Louella Preston suggested that any Niles resident of any age be able to submit a design for the companion artwork, and the board voted to pass it with that change included.

Kanelos told the board that an art teacher or someone in the village who runs an art-related business could be selected to judge the submissions. Alpogianis explained that the project would be funded through private donations, and village funds would not be used.

The companion artwork would most likely be a sculpture, Kanelos said after the presentation, but would not necessarily be limited to that. It would, however, have to withstand the elements because it will be placed in the plaza island.

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