A new interactive sign on Pleasure Island is drawing attention — and criticism — after the city invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the project.

Pleasure Island resident Hollan Hoffer said the sign is a waste of money and believes the funding should have gone toward infrastructure needs on the island.

“When I first saw this, I was completely disgusted. The city knew that we didn’t want it. The amount of money that was spent on it was absolutely ridiculous. They added an additional $265,000 to a grant to build this sign,” Hoffer said.

Hoffer told council last year not to approve additional spending toward the sign. He said the money should have been used on basic repairs instead.

“This was a waste of taxpayer money and the money should have been spent on fixing the city’s infrastructure. We got potholes need to be fixed, we have sewer lines need to be fixed, and we have water lines need to be fixed. Instead, they wasted money on this,” Hoffer said.

The sign is designed as a photo opportunity. Visitors are encouraged to stand in a spot where the missing “I” would be, take a picture and share it.

The city said an LNG company donated money with the condition that it go toward a photo-op sign. Port Arthur Public Information Officer Tianna Johnson said the donation could not be redirected to other projects.

“Cheniere donated $200,000 and the city matched it and that money was earmarked for that, so it couldn’t have been used anywhere else,” Johnson said.

Asked why the city felt it was necessary to match the donation or invest more money into the sign, Johnson said city leaders saw it as part of a broader effort to boost the area.

“City leaders did think it was important to spend this money here because I thought it would be a good investment when it comes to revitalizing Pleasure Island,” Johnson said.

The city said the sign is part of a bigger initiative to develop Pleasure Island and described it as a first step meant to attract visitors.

Hoffer questioned the overall cost and said he wants more transparency.

“For $465,000 is a whole lot more things than Port Arthur that the money could be used better for. This sign itself, I would say probably cost a normal construction company maybe $75,000 to build. We’d like answers on why it costs so much,” Hoffer said.

The Pleasure Island sign was completed this March of this year. The city is encouraging people to stop by and take photos.