By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
The City of Otsego has a new way to disseminate information to its residents.
On Monday, May 19, a sign was installed in front of Brookside Park on M-89 that has the ability to display electronic messages regarding upcoming events and other City news.
“This sign will serve a couple of purposes,” Otsego City Manager Aaron Mitchell said. “Its clean and contemporary appearance provides some good community marketing, but it also can serve as a wonderful source to get community information out to the endless traffic going down M-89.”
Messages for the sign are controlled via an app.
“The technology is pretty impressive and incredibly versatile for different content,” Mitchell said. “It will take us a little bit to learn all of its tricks, but we are all excited about utilizing it going forward with general information. Things like dates for hydrant flushing or leaf pickup and for any emergency information such as a road closure or water main break.”
The bidding process for the sign took place late last year, with the City receiving quotes from three companies. Ultimately, the decision was made to go with Jiffy Signs of Livonia.
“Jiffy Signs comes with some impressive clients such as GM and Ford from the east side of the state,” Mitchell said. “I think they knocked it out of the park.”
The idea to add a sign like this actually began three years ago when officials were conducting public hearings to consider a special assessment to pay for the City’s public safety.
“During those meetings, the community spoke up and questioned our ability to get information out to them,” Mitchell said. “Whether it was public meetings, budget presentations or general information, residents were concerned about us sharing information with them.”
This concern was raised despite the fact that the City was posting information on its website, on its Facebook page and in The Union Enterprise.
“It’s a different world than it was 25 years ago,” Mitchell said. “Fair or not, people did not feel like we were being transparent enough.
“In fact, at one time I was told that we needed a publicist to get information out to the community. That would be nice, but we are a small staff and do the best we can while trying to being good stewards of taxpayer money.”
Mitchell began having discussions with the City’s various department heads to determine options to keep the public better informed. It was then that the idea for a sign with messages came up.
Going forward, the plan will be to create some smaller similar signs for City buildings and parks.
“Those would not only be smaller, but will also not have the message-board component to them,” Mitchell said. “But we would want to keep the same branding. That, of course, is assuming that this sign is well-received and the future budgets allow for it.
“I feel like we can make great strides in the City’s signage and hopefully this is the first step in that direction. I hope the community enjoys it.”
