Mabel Bridge’s Entranceway Reader Board Sign Grant Project Complete

Thanks to a group of volunteers, Mabel Bridge now has two new entranceway reader boards! We received them with very little cost to the community by applying for a grant from Orange County. Orange County offers funding through Neighborhood Pride Grants, which are used to beautify neighborhoods across our area.

Our Grant Committee consisted of six volunteers who met to discuss the project, identified acceptable locations to install the signs, worked with multiple vendors on estimates and detailed all of this in a grant application that was submitted to the County.

Next, a Grant Selection Committee comprised of County staff members reviewed and scored all the incoming applications including ours. Then, the Neighborhood Grants Advisory Board (NGAB), a seven-member citizen panel, selected grant winners. Mabel Bridge was awarded a grant of up to $5000 to achieve our goals, which included increased communication and engagement with residents in Mabel Bridge through the use of entrance area reader boards.

The Grant Committee volunteers ensured they used these taxpayer funds responsibly and effectively. For example, a conscious decision was made to utilize existing ground lighting to illuminate the signs at night instead of paying for additional wiring, electronic components, and ongoing electricity costs. These choices also help to limit Mabel Bridge’s cost of operations and maintenance for the reader boards.

Another area that received careful thought was the location of the reader boards. The Committee considered traffic flow, safety, grant guidelines as well as overall appearance before settling on the current locations of the signs. Board members, the Landscape Committee representative and others were included in the discussion to ensure consensus on the location, especially on the traffic safety aspects.

The Board of Directors would like to extend our thanks to each of the Grant Committee volunteers for their effort to make this project a reality. The group saved our community approximately $3000 and they had the opportunity to meet, know and work with one another. It was a great success all around!

Congratulations on a job well done and thank you!

Grant Committee: (Left to right) Heather Fischer, Leah Emmanouilidis and Kate Demke. Additional members Ilene Jones, Dayna Gaut and Doug Bauer not pictured.