Downtown Community Sign Hits Snag

Plans for an electronic community message board in downtown Kent have hit a snag.

voted Wednesday not to approve a plan for the sign that would see both the city and each spend $70,000 to pay for installation of the sign, which would advertise community events for both entities and stand at the corner of Haymaker Parkway and South DePeyster Street.

Council voted several years ago to partner with the university on the sign, and at the time council agreed to spend $50,000 on the project.

Kent City Manager Dave Ruller said the city administration asked for council's approval to spend another $20,000 on the project because costs had risen for the sign since the initial approval several years ago.

"The original project was pretty much a basic message board, and as we got into it and realized what a nice redevelopment we were doing behind it, it became pretty apparent this thing needs to blend very well," he said.

Ruller said the extra $20,000 could be covered by money left over from the S.R. 59 signal upgrades that the city planned to spend but did not have to.

The proposal to partner with Kent State on the sign included plans to set aside $4,800 each year for maintenance of the sign, which would stand in front of the new under construction.

Only three members of council voted to spend the additional money and authorize the agreement with Kent State.

Councilman Wayne Wilson said this latest cost had risen dramatically compared to initial talks about the sign.

"I think when we first started talking about this we were talking about a $20,000 or $25,000 sign," Wilson said. "We’ve gone way up in price."

Ruller said after the meeting he's not sure what the action Wednesday, or lack thereof, means for the sign project.

He said city administrators will talk to university staff about the sign and then see if some middle ground can be reached on the project with members of council.