DuPont council opts for cheaper, used reader boards

Nate Hulings | For The Olympian • Published May 28, 2008

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DuPONT – The city won't be getting new electronic reader boards to provide information about events and meetings.

John Darling, the city's community development director, said Tuesday that he has scrapped such plans in favor of buying existing boards owned by Quadrant.

Quadrant owns and uses 24 signs in DuPont to provide sales and directional information. Darling foresees the city purchasing five to six of them.

He said proposed locations include Wilmington Drive, next to State Farm, because of the location's visibility and traffic flow.

Other proposed sites include DuPont Station and near Center Drive, facing traffic entering the city.

Darling added that most of the sites being considered are on city property.

City Councilman John Ehrenreich called the plan to buy reader boards from Quadrant an "innovative solution" compared with the alternative, which would have cost the city more than $50,000.

The council likely will get more information about cost and other details by its June 24 meeting, Darling said.

In other news

The City Council unanimously approved a two-year collective- bargaining agreement with DuPont Professional Firefighters.

Dawn Masko, assistant city administrator and finance director, said the agreement includes a 4.2 percent cost-of-living increase for 2007 and a 3.5 percent increase in 2008.

The previous agreement had expired in December 2006, and negotiations for the current agreement began nearly 15 months ago.