Palmer residents pleased with Burger King cooperation

PALMER Burger King may be setting a precedent for the way big business operates in the city of Palmer.

After a meeting with Burger King of Alaska president Larry Baker, a group of Valley residents said they are very pleased with the outcome.

I think Mr. Baker was incredibly responsive to this community about the way it looks, and needs to be commended for that, said concerned resident and Palmer city councilman Tony Pippel in a Thursday interview.

Friends of Mat-Su executive director Michelle Church said she was pleasantly surprised with Bakers willingness to cooperate.

You think of Burger King along similar lines as Wal-Mart, she explained. They have a tendency to just come into the community rather than trying to be a part of the community.

Baker, Church said, made an effort to make his company a part of the community.

He met with the group after previous telephone conversations with area residents who were worried that the company was planning to construct a 20-foot sign to advertise its location.

Clearly the big highway signs are just not appropriate for Palmer, Pippel said.

Baker said after driving around Palmer one afternoon, he came to the conclusion that a 20-foot sign would not be the best design for the Palmer Burger King.

In a small community where the traffic is very slow, it just doesnt appear to be necessary to have a huge pole sign blazing out to everybody where you are, he said. Something more compatible with the [citys] character makes more sense.

The sign Baker proposed is a monument-style sign, which would have a two-foot-high solid concrete or brick base with a round Burger King logo which would be around six feet tall. All told, the sign would be approximately eight feet tall, which is even smaller than the ad hoc group asked for.

Our goal at the meeting was to have a sign under 10 feet, said Lynn Fuller, an area resident who helped organize the meeting.

Baker said his company had already applied for and received a permit for the maximum signage allowed, but going with a smaller sign just seemed to make more sense.

Just because we can do it doesnt mean that we have to, Baker said. We get better exposure with a sign at eye level than you do with a street sign 20 feet tall.

The smaller sign, he said, will actually cut building costs. Less overall square footage means a refund of some money from the sign permits. Permits are more expensive for signs with more square footage in Palmer.

Construction and maintenance costs will also be reduced, Baker explained, because erecting a sign 20 feet in the air requires that a support pole be placed 14 feet into the ground to prevent the sign from falling during a strong gust of wind.

Working with the community to develop a community-friendly sign has other fiscal impacts, Baker added.

Frankly, I think that it will be good for business, he said. Your best advertising campaign is the whisper campaign of customers.

Baker said when a Burger King store went into Homer, residents raised concerns with signage there as well. Working with the residents there has resulted in happier customers and as a result, more cash flow into the restaurant.

The most significant thing is that the community feels good about your business, he said. And then theyre willing to trade their hard-earned dollars with you and not someone else.

Baker said he hopes to set the stage for open communication between big business and local communities.

Id like to set a new standard, he said. Maybe people will look to us and say, Wouldnt it be nice if other businesses would do the same?

Burger King of Alaska has been operating in the state since 1975.

More than 700 employees are employed in the chains 23 stores across the state, with approximately 45 new employees being hired at the Palmer restaurant. Photo: Burger Kings sign is now only a culvert peeking out of the ground, but with a little communication between area residents and franchise owner Larry Baker, the sign has gone from a 20-foot-tall monster to an eight-foot-tall monument set in a landscaped backdrop. Workers are still finishing the building, which was scheduled to be open June 25.

Photo by RINDI WHITE/FrontiersmanPhoto courtesy of ADEC.