Plans made to buy new digital sign

Location would be in front of community’s government building on East Main Street

Madison Village is planning to buy a digital sign to install in front of its government building on East Main Street.

The purchase of the sign was discussed during the

Oct. 13 Village Council meeting.

Village Administrator Dwayne Bailey said the double-sided sign would be about 5 feet long, topped by a blue-and-white section with lettering to identify the building, and provide two lines for digital messages.

Councilman Robert Lee wondered if the two-line format on the sign was adequate. He noted that the digital sign in front of the Madison Senior Center on Hubbard Road provides space for four lines of text.

Bailey replied that the Madison Senior Center’s sign is more narrow, while the sign designed for the front yard of Village Hall at 33 E. Main St. is longer.

“There will be plenty of room for (messages about) council meetings and things like that,” Bailey said.

The sign would cost $5,663. To fund the purchase, Bailey has applied to obtain money from the balance of a NOPEC Energized Community Grant that Madison Village was awarded earlier this year.

Bailey said the village used f unding from that same grant to install a new doorway and heating,

ventilation and air conditioning system during the project which renovated Stratton Place into Village Hall.

Government entities that are eligible to receive Energized Community Grants must first enter into an agreement with NOPEC to accept the award. Then, when a government entity identifies specific projects that could be paid for with Energized Community Grant funds, they submit applications to NOPEC for approval.

NOPEC Energized Community Grants are awarded to community governments to implement energy savings or energy infrastructure measures. The program is offered by NOPEC, or Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council, a provider of energy aggregation programs for communities throughout Ohio.

Bailey said if NOPEC rejects his funding request, plans to acquire and install the sign will be scrapped.

“I won’t purchase this with anything other than NOPEC funds,” he said.

However, if NOPEC gives its blessings and appropriates the $5,663, the village intends to buy the sign from Digital Imaging Specialist. This business is located on West Main Street in Madison Village.

Village Council, during the Oct. 13 meeting, approved a purchase order for the sign and legislation to adjust various line items in the village’s budget to accommodate the acquisition, pending NOPEC’s approval to release the grant money.

Madison Village relocated its government offices and Police Department to the former Stratton Place in early June.

The former Madison Village Hall, based at 126 W. Main St., was sold to the Madison Historical Society for $10 plus closing costs. That 100-year-old structure now serves as the society’s new headquarters.