FENNIMORE - Having finalized a design, prioritized locations, and determined just what the DOT will allow, the Wayfinding Signs Committee is ready to move on to their next phase – asking for money to help pay for purchasing signs to place along Highways 18 and 61 (or Lincoln Ave. and 12th St. if your prefer the city names!)

“We are at the point where we are ready to order signs, but we need additional funding,” says Holly Straka, committee communications person.

The city government has allocated $500 to the project that was identified as a priority during the Forming Fennimore’s Future meeting held last winter. Southwest Technical College has also stepped forward, committing an additional $1,000 to the project. That leaves the committee with another $450 to $750 to raise in order to place between 13 and 15 signs along Fennimore’s two busiest streets.

“The plan is to start small,” Straka says. “Once we have those in place, we have plans for more if we can find the funds.”

The primary determinant for what signs will be placed along the highways comes down to Wisconsin Department of Transportation regulations. Signs posted along state highways can only point to municipal resources – parks, city buildings, museums, schools, downtown districts, municipal swimming pools, police, hospitals, and such. Signs for churches, medical clinics, nursing homes, and other private community resources can have wayfaring signs on city streets, but not on the state highways.
“Once you’re off the highways, there is a lot more that you can do,” Straka says.

She and the other members of the committee are hoping business and city residents will see the value in the long-lived signs as a way to promote the city, and will donate toward the cost of having them made. The committee also plans to seek grant funds.

Each sign will cost around $150.

Donations to the wayfinding sign project can be made through the Fennimore Area Foundation and are tax-deductible. Checks should be made out to the FAF, with the Wayfinding Sign Committee designated in the memo. Donations should be mailed to Fennimore Area Foundation, P.O. Box 134, Fennimore, Wis. 53809.

For those with additional questions, they can reach out to Straka at holly@brechlerinsurance.com or contact Fennimore’s Director of Public Works, Dennis Biddick, at 822-6501 or dpw@fennimore.com.