A sign of the times in Saukville

By KRISTYN HALBIG ZIEHM

Ozaukee Press staff

Pedestrians and motorists will find it easier to get information about the Village of Saukville in the coming months.

The village is replacing its current community bulletin board at Grady Park with an electronic sign outside Village Hall.

The Plan Commission recently approved the design and location for the new informational sign.

Replacing the old sign at Grady Park has been a goal of the village for years, Village President Barb Dickmann said.

“It (the existing sign) has been there for as long as I can remember,” Dickmann said, noting the village has to dispatch members of its staff to go to the park and change the message as needed.

The new sign will be an electronic one, and staff members will be able to change the message from a computer inside Village Hall, she said, making it easier and more efficient to operate.

That is especially important during emergencies, Dickmann said, because the village can make immediate updates to the message.

“We’ve been looking into this (new sign) since about 2014, but there’s always been a funding issue,” she added.

The village will use $48,630 in American Rescue Act Plan funds to pay for the sign, and officials hope to have it installed at Village Hall on Green Bay Avenue by the end of summer, Dickmann said.

Officials decided to erect the new sign at Village Hall because it’s the most visible place in the community, Dickmann said.

“It’s where you expect to find information about the community,” she said. “I know where it belongs, so this is where we’re going to put it.”

At Village Hall, the new monument sign will replace the existing ground sign that denotes the Village Hall and Police Department.

The new sign will be on a brick base and, including the base, will be 10 feet high.

The sign will be lighted, ensuring motorists can see it day or night, Dickmann said.

“It’ll be bright enough for people to notice,” she said. “And the most important thing is you can read it going by at 35 mph.”

The sign, she added, “is attractive. It’s going to match the building. And it’s going to last.”