The heart is back where it belongs.
Crews installed the heart element of the "Heart Barrie" sign on Friday afternoon, several weeks after it was removed for repairs due to cracks that appeared which damaged the face of the sign, the heart and the base holding it together.
The landmark 10-foot sign was installed at Heritage Park on June 30.
Earlier, the city said the manufacturer would cover any damage deemed a deficiency, but the city was on the dime for anything considered vandalism.
Eyebrows have been raised in some circles about the $200,000 price tag for the sign and how former Ward 10 Councillor Mike McCann went about fundraising for it, with donations collected by his Heart Barrie company.
At a council meeting on June 6, McCann disputed a staff memorandum that indicated Heart Barrie had raised $375,000 in donations. According to the donor list published by the City of Barrie on its website as of June 30, 2022, the tally is $370,000.
“Unfortunately, city staff published numbers that were not correct, and I believe I made that very clear in council because there were some in-kind donations,” McCann told Barrie 360 in an interview in June.
"There is nothing shady going on," he stated to Barrie 360 during that same interview.
McCann has said there will be a breakdown of the finances during an event to recognize sponsors sometime in December.
The city set aside $15,000 in its budget for repairs to the sign including for vandalism.
The sign was targeted with graffiti in September.
Banner image: Crews installed the heart to the "Heart Barrie" sign on Friday, Dec. 2, 2022/Barrie 360
