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Electronic sign won't go on Quentin Road, Rolling Meadows aldermen say

Rolling Meadows will not install an electronic message sign on the far west side of town in light of neighbors' objections.

Instead, city officials said Tuesday they will look for a potential new spot to put the sign.

The newly-seated city council - during its first committee of the whole meeting Tuesday night - decided the Northwest Suburban Municipal Joint Action Water Agency water pumping station site at 2550 Quentin Road was not the best location for the double-sided, 10-foot-high message board.

That site was originally proposed to better connect the western part of Rolling Meadows with the east, but residents who came to city council and community meetings in March and April argued the sign wouldn't fit in with the aesthetics of their neighborhood.

"I was the person who brought this forward thinking it would be something positive for the area," said Alderman Mike Cannon, whose Ward 1 includes the Quentin Road site. "Obviously I learned quite late in the process many people did not like it. The theory is still valid, but the location is not. I would like to see we consider somewhere else."

City staff is considering at least eight other locations for the sign, which was approved for a $39,185 purchase by the council in March. Potential spots include Countryside Park, South Park, Cottonwood Park, Fire Station 16, and the intersection of Euclid Avenue and Rohlwing Road.

Rob Horne, the city's assistant director of public works, said he would narrow the list to three for the council's consideration.

New Aldermen Kevin O'Brien and Jon Bisesi - both former members of the city's planning and zoning commission that worked on the recently-adopted comprehensive plan - said they hoped the city could find a spot for the sign on the west side of town. An objective of the plan is to find ways to improve the city's communication to residents west of Route 53 and Plum Grove Road and better connect them to the rest of the city.

But Nancy Mau, a resident who led the effort to scuttle the Quentin Road sign, told aldermen Tuesday that a sign anywhere would be unnecessary. She said neighbors in a community Facebook group said they wouldn't pay attention to an electronic sign, and are more likely to get their information from social media instead.

"$40,000 would be better spent on flooding and dealing with road issues than on a sign they won't read," Mau said.

While aldermen decided against the sign on the Quentin property, Horne recommended the council still approve at a future meeting a 60-square-foot easement with the water agency. That would allow the city to use the space potentially for other signage, such as an entry marker, or park bench, Horne said.

Rolling Meadows City Council delays vote on electronic message sign

  Rolling Meadows aldermen on Tuesday decided not to install a community message sign at the Northwest Suburban Municipal Joint Action Water Agency site at 2550 Quentin Road. But they are looking to put it somewhere else. Christopher Placek/cplacek@dailyherald.com
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