The library and city hall projects were not the only ones to be discussed in length at Monday’s Carroll City Council meeting, the monument signage project was also brought back in for discussion. Director of Public Works, Randy Krauel, presented plans that are about 95 percent complete and cost opinions for a sign in the downtown district and another for the east entrance to the city of Carroll. A couple of council members said they would prefer they discuss the signs separately instead of as one project as the costs were presented at a total of just over $103,485. Krauel says it is not as simple as just dividing that number in half.
Council members, Jerry Fleshner and Carolyn Siemann, say they have heard from constituents on both proposed signs and that there has been nothing but positive momentum for the downtown sign, but there has been some negative feedback about the vertical east-side one. Fleshner was one of the members wishing to split the two, while councilman Mike Kots brought up a question he had about the downtown signage.
Mayor, Dr. Eric Jensen, says he looks at it as a generic Carroll sign, not advertising for any one business. City Manager, Mike Pogge-Weaver, adds that at least one downtown business is not supportive of the sign as well. Councilman, LuVern Dirkx, says he is just not sold on this project overall.
Fleshner and Clay Haley agree with Dirkx about the east sign being too expensive, but Fleshner says he feels the community has agreed with the downtown design. Taking a diametrically opposing position, Kots says he would rather see the east sign go up and do away with the downtown monument. Pogge-Weaver explains that the estimated cost for the east-side project, likely around the $40,000 mark, is right in line with a total budgeted amount of slightly over $200,000 for four city-entry markers. It was near this point that Councilwoman, Misty Boes, gave her opinion.
The council then got into more detail about the feedback on the east-side sign, with some of the constituents preferring the horizontal over a vertical and that some people preferred the lettering run from top down instead of bottom up. Kots even said he was a top down proponent, but would be willing to concede that point to get something done. All council members eventually agreed that they would table the topic and put it on the agenda for one of their upcoming planning sessions in December. Copies of the designs and proposed costs can be found below.
