Monticello’s Advertising and Promotions (A&P) Commission held its monthly meeting at noon on Monday, February 26, in the Community Room at Citizen’s Bank. Shannon Herman, Andy Patel, Kim Patel, Annette Taylor, and Mike Wigley were present giving the commission a quorum.
Herman opened the meeting by presenting the January meeting minutes and financial statements for approval. Both items were voted on and approved.
The first item on the agenda was to discuss wayfinding signage for points of interest in the city. Kim Patel said that the project was put on hold to determine what areas or places should be considered for signage. She suggested that Ryan Copico, A&P Administrative Assistant, contact the company that they had been working with to gather more information. She added that the commission needed to narrow down the list to the top three to five locations for signage. Mayor Jason Akers suggested that the A&P and Parks Commissions get together and come up with a uniform design for the signs so that all city entities could use the same design on all projects.
Herman also said that the commission needs to come up with a list of projects to work on in 2024. Taylor noted that the Event Center project was on hold due to a lack of funding and resources. She continued by saying that some form of promotion needed to begin for Lake Monticello. As the lake gets closer to being refilled, they should start creating a buzz now so that interest is peaked by the time the lake is ready to be reopened.
Kim Patel noted that Spring on the Square will take place on May 17, Food Trucks and Fireworks will be on July 3, and Sunset on the Square will take place in October, with the date still to be determined. Mayor Akers said that he has a group that is interested in hosting a gun and knife show in Monticello.
Andy Patel asked about passing a “hamburger tax” to help the city generate revenue. Mayor Akers said that now would not be the ideal time due to all of the uncertainty people have with this being an election year. Wigley suggested that the wet/dry issue should be addressed before asking the citizens to pass another tax.
Mayor Akers said that he believes that now is the time to address the wet/dry issue. He stated that as mayor, he would support the decision of the citizens, pass or fail. He also stated that he, as mayor, or the City of Monticello could not actively go out and talk to the citizens about this, but the commissions, as separate entities, could. Kim Patel suggested that the commission hold a mandatory meeting in two weeks to have the commissioners go on record as to whether they support the initiative or not. If the majority are in favor, they could then begin the work to pursue getting this item on the ballot. The date for the mandatory meeting is still pending.
