The billboard on I-24 between Tennessee Exit 1 and The Kentucky State Line invites people to see Cadiz. The Downtown Merchants’ Association pays $8,724 of the annual expense but some Tourism Commission members want to see more than antiques on the sign.
“Antiques are on the sign because they pull people off the interstate. If you want to help, ok, but we are down to five antique stores downtown that pay for the sign according to their square footage. We pay $8,724 per year for the sign.”
Stovall said that the City of Cadiz and the tourism commission pay $1,000 annually for the sign, while the Chamber of Commerce contributes $1,125 to pay the total expense of $11,t849. If the Tourism Commission operates the sign and adds the Kentucky “Unbridled Spirit” logo, state tourism sources will provide 80-20 percent matching funds for the sign.
“It’s not a question of you paying your dues,” said Commissioner Greg Batts, “but so des everyone else. We agree that we need to keep the sign, but should not make it exclusive to one particular industry.
The sign mentions six antique shops, the Janice Mason Art Museum, specialty shops, and that Cadiz is a Renaissance City. It gives the distance from the sign and the exit number to reach town.
“If the words are not big enough, people will not see them. If we had something else to pull people off the road, then we would still get them,” said Stovall.
Commissioner Karla White said, “Antique shops have paid for the bulk of the sign. We have some good words for it, lakes, marinas and antiques. People who stay in the county longer will look for other things to do.”
“If we do this for other industries, we may be opening up a can of worms,” said Batts. “Everyone in the hospitality industry may be asking us to put up boards for them.”
“We’re not talking about a total redesign of the sign, just a few major words. Tourism supports all major industries,” said White.
More on the tourism board and their hunt for a dirctor in your latest Cadiz Record.
