The club will overhaul the billboard at island’s north end.

Bainbridge Rotarians want to put a friendlier face on the island for visitors coming from the north.

The club has adopted as a service project restoration of the wooden welcome sign that greets motorists coming across the bridge, to celebrate the centennial of its parent organization, Rotary International, in February 2005.

“We wanted to create a gateway, a kind of ‘welcome to the community’ statement,” said Tom Lindsley, Bainbridge Rotary president. “And we would like to involve the whole community in the process.”

Rotarian Judd Huney recalls that the sign was put up by the state some time in the 1950s; the highway route depicted on the sign is the old road that ran to the east of the current roadway.

Since then, ownership and maintenance of the sign has been unclear.

After some research, the club found that the land around the sign, bounded by Alma Place, Seabold Road and the highway, was mostly state right-of-way. It sits on the northern border of a small parcel that was privately owned.

The club spoke with the land owner, who agreed to sell the plot – just under a quarter of an acre – to the Bainbridge Island Rotary Trust last fall.

More than just restoring the sign, the project could include information and maps, parking and seating off Alma Place, bike racks, arts or cultural features, and landscaping, as well as recognition of local service clubs.

“It’s needed to set the tone for people coming to Bainbridge,” said Tom Kilbane, project coordinator. “It’s a friendly face on the community.”

The project will kick off with a design forum from noon to 5 p.m. on Feb. 13 at the Phelps Road fire hall.

Architects and landscape designers, city officials, the Suquamish tribe, artists and arts community, service organizations, trails and parks, as well as state landscape architects and Department of Transportation employees have been invited to brainstorm at the design event, dividing into teams to come up with ideas.

Members of the public are invited to see and comment on the presentation of the designs at the end of the event.

Lindsley said that there is currently no budget for the project. After a design is selected, construction will be carved into phases to be completed as monies are available.

“We also invite other groups to help fund or do segments,” said Joanne Croghan, Bainbridge Rotary president-elect, referring to the current sign, which also has symbols posted for the Kiwanis, American Legion, and Mason’s clubs.

The Rotary Club’s choice of project was influenced by plans for “gateway” efforts in Winslow, but also “we were looking for something to make a statement,” Lindsley said.

“One requirement,” he said, “was that it be something we didn’t just write a check for, but actually did some of the work.”