Perry City Council to talk signs, sanitation

The city of Perry is creating a new identity through rebranding, and the City Council wants the change to be reflected on the city’s more than 50 signs for parks and other facilities.

The council expects to hear results Monday night from a team of community members and officials who’ve been taking inventory and evaluating the signs.

“The Wayfinding Committee originally was set up to ... make suggestions to mayor and council on where signage should be installed, removed or improved, primarily from a directional standpoint to enhance the ability for visitors to get around better and find things,” City Manager Lee Gilmour said.

“I don’t think prior to the formation of the Wayfinding Committee (that signs) were ever looked at from a comprehensive standpoint,” he said.

The type of signs selected and the process of making them will depend mostly on the branding results, Gilmour said. In May, the city contracted with Tennessee-based Chandlerthinks to come up with a branding campaign that costs $59,000 plus as much as $6,000 in expenses.

“I would imagine the branding committee should be back presenting something to council within the next month or two months or so,” Gilmour said.

In other business Monday, the council will be asked to appoint new members to the Uptown Perry Partnership. The nonprofit was created in 2012 to help the city with downtown development, but some board members recently withdrew participation for a variety of personal reasons, Gilmour said.

Also, with the recent resignation of Community Development Director Mike Beecham, the city is considering creating the new position of assistant city manager. The proposed position would have responsibilities ranging from technical and administrative support to economic development, according to a city report.

Changes to the city’s sanitation ordinance also will be discussed Monday. Decius Aaron, director of public works, said the changes will have a minimal impact on the average Perry resident.

“One of the major things on the changes is in the collection of yard waste (for large facilities),” Aaron said. “I had proposed that we didn’t collect from commercial, multi-family and industrial institutions, and (Gilmour) suggested we change it to say we’ll collect (yard waste) for a fee.”

Aaron said the fee for such service hasn’t yet been determined.

For residents, piles of yard waste may be no larger than 5 feet wide and 5 feet high, he said.

“If (the pile) is any larger than that, we’ll charge an additional fee,” Aaron said. “We’re still working on (setting a fee).”

The city of Perry currently picks up carpet that’s not rolled up and tied, but that could change under the new ordinance that will be considered.

“We’re asking that residents roll in 5-foot sections, then tape it or tie it together (for curbside disposal),” Aaron said. “In the past, (residents) could just throw (carpet) out there any way they wanted to.”

To contact writer Laura Corley, call 744-4334 or follow her on Twitter @Lauraecor.

This story was originally published September 12, 2015 at 8:51 PM with the headline "Perry City Council to talk signs, sanitation ."