Council OKS New City Hall Sign

FARMINGTON — Traffic traveling east on U. S. Highway 62 past Farmington City Hall has not been able to read messages and news displayed on the city’s digital sign set next to the highway for about two years now.

The city’s 2012 budget included money for a new sign. On Monday night the Farmington City Council followed through by accepting a low bid of $22,019 from Sign Studio of Cave Springs. The city budgeted $25,000 to replace the defective sign, which works on one side but has missing letters on the other side.

Sign Studio submitted bids for a one-color sign or a four-color sign. The council voted 6-1 to spend the additional $4,000 and go with a four-color sign.

Alderman Bobby Morgan voted against the original electronic sign in August 2007, and voted the same way Monday night. The city paid $22,000 for the first sign to the Sign Machine, based in Denison, Texas.

“We’re going to end up paying $ 50,000,” Morgan said, referring to the original amount and the money approved for the new sign. “I was against it the first time.”

The original digital sign supposedly came with a 20year life expectancy, but the company went out of business and the city could not find anyone to repair the sign.

Mark Daniels with Sign Studio told the council that the computer boards inside the sign melted.

He said the new sign will be “top of the line” and the company manufactures its own computer boards. The bid includes a five- year warranty on parts and a one-year warranty on labor. He recommended the city attach a rider to its insurance policy to pay for any problems beyond the warranty period.

“We’re going to make it and we’re not going anywhere,” Daniels said.

The bid includes removal of the old message board and installing the new sign in the existing cabinet. Daniels said the work would take about six weeks. The city will be able to display messages, animation and photos on the new sign.

In other action, the council approved two bids to chip and seal the remaining gravel roads in the city limits. Fochtman Enterprises submitted a low bid of $19,992 to chip and seal Jimmy Devault Road and Tomlinson Asphalt submitted a low bid of $110,632.80 to chip and seal North Appleby and South Appleby roads.

Mayor Ernie Penn noted that one of the city’s goals has been to pave all dirt roads annexed into the city

Morgan, who chairs the city’s Street Committee, added, “We need to get these roads taken care of because we need to come into the city next year.”

ENTERPRISE-LEADER The western side of Farmington’s City Hall sign has been defective for about two years. The digital sign will be replaced with a new message board.