by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
The new welcome-to-Sartell sign near the city’s new high school is a hit with residents, and the City Council is considering putting up more of the signs elsewhere at entrances to the city.
The sign is comprised of metal letters, about 3 feet tall, that spell S-A-R-T-E-L-L in a curved configuration. It was installed on the roundabout at 35th Street N. and Pinecone Road just east of the new school. The sign is 13.5 feet long.
At the Aug. 26 city-council meeting, the four members present (Brady Andel was absent) said they had heard many good comments from residents and visitors about the new sign. They also added they themselves are impressed by it.
“That sign looks really good. It’s not gaudy, but it’s powerful,” said council member Mike Chisum, adding it would be good to have a sign like it on the roundabouts on south Pinecone Road, either at Heritage Road or Troop Drive.
Mayor Ryan Fitzthum said one should probably be constructed on the roundabout just southeast of the Walmart store, by the road leading south to Sauk Rapids. Another sign, he added, could be placed on the roundabout at Pinecone and CR 133.
The council agreed to revisit those possibilities in the near future.
The signs cost about $5,000 each, including the letters and the concrete base. With electrical service to the sign and lighting, each would cost about $7,500, which is much less expensive than other “welcome” signs done in the past, according to city staff.
This is the welcome-to-Sartell sign on a roundabout near the new Sartell High School. It has earned warm responses from residents, so much so that the city council is considering installation of more signs like it on other roundabouts at the city limits.
