The possibility of installing a digital message board near the entryway into Knox was discussed during last week’s city council meeting. Mayor Dennis Estok told members that a message board could be utilized to notify citizens about upcoming events or any other messages that they may need to convey.
He said after doing a bit of research, he found there are few different options they have to consider. They can get a sign that would be on wheels, similar to what traffic control uses. That would cost approximately $15,000 to $20,000.
The other option they have is a sign that would be placed in the ground. A single-sided digital message board of that kind runs about $25,000 while a double-sided permanent sign would cost approximately $30,000 to $35,000.
Council President Ron Parker was curious to know what features were included in those proposed costs. Parker asked, “Does that buy just the sign or all the electronics included to program it?” Mayor Estok responded, “Yeah, you can do it right from your office, just like what we do with the Community Center. Right from the office, you can program the message you want and all that.”
The mayor said if they split up the cost across a few different accounts it wouldn’t make a significantly negative impact anywhere in the budget. He asked members to take the options into consideration but added that at this point, it’s just an idea and he wasn’t looking for a definitive answer right away.
Both Councilman Don Kring and President Parker made comments about how they didn’t oppose the idea but they felt the prices were high. President Parker suggested that members should look into gathering some citizen input in order to get an idea about how residents feel about erecting the digital message board.
No official actions were taken on the matter but it will be discussed again in future meetings.
