At the regular Esterhazy town council meeting on Wednesday, the council addressed some concerns over their previous decision on the West Sign Corridor. At their September 9 council meeting a motion was passed to go forward with 4x8 signs for the West Sign Corridor after previously only having 8x8 signs in the corridor.
The decision to move to 4x8 signs was to allow for more businesses to put signs up. The current businesses with signs up are not under contract and the town plans to provide them with the opportunity to update their signs.
After making the decision to move to 4x8 signs, the council heard concerns from businesses currently with signs up. These businesses are concerned because they’ll have to pay for new 4x8 signs.
Without contracts in place for these businesses since 2017, the town doesn’t have an obligation to adjust their decision based on what’s currently in place. The town will give businesses with signs currently up the first chance to put up 4x8 signs.
“There are over 21 names on the waiting list for a sign in the West Sign Corridor,” said Economic Development Director Tammy MacDonald. “This opened the door for these businesses to have an opportunity to get a sign up. Some have been on the waiting list for 10 years.”
The council is sticking with their decision on the West Sign Corridor and are hopeful they’ll be able to fit up to 32 signs with the 4x8 signs. With the decision on the West Sign Corridor in motion, the council plans to have a list of businesses that will have signs for the corridor by the end of October, signs up in November, and contracts done with the businesses by January.
“The existing signs will have to come down, but we’re going to give those businesses first crack at putting their signs back up,” said Acting Administrator Mike Thorley. “This way it will be more through us and under a new contract.”
The decision on the West Sign Corridor will not impact businesses with signs up on the East Sign Corridor. Signs in the East Sign Corridor are 16x20 and a decision on the future of those sign sizes will likely come in the spring.
“The East Sign Corridor was designed a lot differently than the West side,” said Thorley. “It’s a smaller area, but there’s larger signs there. We have to re-evaluate what we want to provide there on that corner because it’s a busy corner and we want to know how many signs we can put in there. We have a lot of work to do in that area still.”
Walk the hall update
The council passed a motion to charge $10 to walk the hall participants this year. Due to the Covid-19 protocol, thorough and consistent cleaning has to be implemented for walk the hall to run.
To offset the cost of paying for cleaning products the council has decided to set a fee for walkers. Along with the fee, there will be a sign-in book for participants for contact tracing purposes as well as a maximum of five people walking per time slot, a mandatory closure each day from noon to 2 p.m. for cleaning, and a designated area for putting on running shoes to ensure proper distancing.
“If we’re going to be there cleaning up and spending more time (due to Covid-19) then we should charge them just a minimal amount to cover some of the new expenses,” said Acting Administrator Mike Thorley.
Dana Antal fire system upgrade
The council passed a motion to approve the purchase and installation of a new fire system at the Dana Antal Arena in the concession area. It will cost the town $2,478.90.
Sale of lot
The council passed a motion to accept a $7,500 offer from a local business for a lot located at 610 Park Avenue, between Main Street and Maple Avenue. The business plans on developing on the lot to do renovations to the building on the land.
“A local business plans on developing in that area,” said Acting Administrator Mike Thorley.
Winter landfill hours
The council passed a motion to approve the winter landfill hours. The landfill will now only be open Thursday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. These hours will be in effect until April 15.
