After the City of North Liberty, Iowa, invested $8.4 million in a new water pollution control facility, plant manager Dave Ramsey thought a nice entrance sign would properly express the community’s pride.
“I came up with the idea and passed it along to the city manager,” says Ramsey. “He jumped at it and said ‘Go with it.’ Then I told him what the cost was. He didn’t like that.” Nonetheless, Ramsey went ahead, cutting down the cost to the city by asking the main players in the plant’s design and construction to kick in. They did.
More than pretty
And as a result, the sign, embellished with mulch, flowers and other plantings, now stands just outside the plant gate. The plant itself lies down a dead-end road that runs past a school. People driving by on the main road can’t see the sign, but parents dropping kids off at the school can.
The sign, which cost about $6,000 in all, is more than just a decoration. It’s a tribute to everyone involved in building and running the plant, and to the residents who pay for it. “The construction of this state-of-the-art plant demonstrates the City of North Liberty’s commitment to proactively supporting our growing population and continuing to improve the local environment,” reads part of the message at the sign’s center.
Logos represent the companies that helped bring the plant to fruition: design and consulting firms Fox Engineering and Shive-Hattery; GE Water & Process Technologies – Zenon, supplier of the membrane bioreactor treatment technology; and Staub Construction, general contractor. “We split the cost five ways,” says Ramsey. “I asked the suppliers. It wasn’t mandatory. They all said, ‘Sure, no problem.’”
In-house assist
Ramsey and assistant plant superintendent Kevin Stensland sketched out the sign and the message. The city manager and council weighed in with ideas and signed off on the final wording. Stensland and other plant personnel poured the concrete base, built the pillars, and hung the sign.
A local sign company built the sign itself, delivering in one piece with features not painted on but engraved into the wood. “For this city, $8.4 million is a lot of money,” says Ramsey. “It was the largest capital project we’ve ever done. An attractive sign just seemed appropriate.”
