A public hearing and bid opening for six new LED message boards in Marshall County was held Monday morning.
Priority Project Resources Grant Writer Shannon McLeod is writing the Community Development Block Grant for the $150,000 earmarked for the project. The county already received the Office of Community and Rural Affairs funding to purchase the message boards, but a public hearing was held as it is a grant-funded project.
“One message board will be distributed to each of the incorporated communities throughout the county, and, in turn, will allow us the ability to send out countywide messaging as it relates to an emergency and/or a general notification,” stated McLeod. “Communities will also have some access to be able to put messaging on there so it’s going to be a partnership between the county and the communities as far as messaging.”
No county match is required, but some funding will be allocated from the Marshall County Crossroads Regional Stellar Communities Initiative for the installation of the message boards. Any municipal officials wanting to make any further improvements to the area where the displays are located will needed to fund those improvements with municipal dollars.
No public comment was given during the hearing.
A resolution allowing the grant application was unanimously approved.
Premier Signs, Bowman Displays, Vanadco Signs, Burkhart Signs, and Graycraft Signs submitted bids for a single-sided display and a double-sided display. The total bids for six single-sided signs ranged from about $87,300 to $129,600 while the range of six double-sided signs was from $128,300 to $206,100. The bids were taken under advisement with a recommendation for approval to be provided during the commissioners’ next meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
