When Knox City Council members met last month, they decided to move forward with purchasing a new digital message board, after first discussing the matter back in March.
Initially, when the topic was presented by Mayor Dennis Estok, he said that the double-sided message board he found would be 4 foot by 8 foot and would cost around $35,000.
He explained that placing a sign at the city’s entrance could help promote various community events and share other important announcements with citizens as well as motorists passing through. He also previously mentioned that the cost includes all the technology needed to set up the sign and run it remotely.
During council items at the final meeting in May, Council President Ron Parker noted that the members hadn’t discussed the proposed message board in a while. He asked the mayor for a reminder about the financial aspect.
Mayor Estok said that if the council members voted to buy the sign, the money for the purchase would likely come from three separate accounts so it wouldn’t drain any specific fund.
He said as with other major projects such as the splash pad and the performance stage, the money would come from the riverboat fund, the CEDIT and the TIF if it’s applicable.
Councilman Jeff Berg made a motion to allow the mayor to purchase the sign. However, Councilman Don Kring said he’d like to look over the plans again before making any final decisions.
When the topic was first presented in March, Councilman Kring said he felt like the price for the sign was pretty steep but noted that it was on his “wish list”.
At last month’s meeting Kring said if the city is going to make such an expensive investment, they might as well pay a little more to get a larger sign. The mayor said the next size up is 5 foot by 9 foot and it would cost approximately $5,000 to $10,000 more. Kring suggested spending the extra money to get the additional footage.
President Parker acknowledged that Councilman Berg’s motion was still on the floor. He seconded it and added that they should purchase the sign that is 5 foot by 9 foot. The motion passed unanimously.
Other than the size, the design of the sign was not discussed during the meeting but Mayor Estok previously mentioned that certain details such, such as color, font and other design elements, are customizable.
