The city of Aurora will soon be getting new digital roadside signs at no cost, but the signs will display advertisements alongside messages from the city.
Community Digital Displays, a company which currently has these signs in 15 other suburban communities across the Chicago area, will build, maintain and operate digital signs that feature the city’s branding, according to a presentation given by company representatives at the Dec. 17 Aurora City Council meeting.
The City Council approved a 20-year agreement with the company at that meeting.
Instead of paying rent for placing the signs on city property, the company will instead let the city place community messages on the signs for free. Aurora will get at least one of every eight advertising slots, which each last for 10 seconds at a time.
Most of the other slots will be sold as traditional advertisement to national corporations, Aurora-based small businesses or nonprofits, which will get a discount, company representatives said at the meeting.
The first sign to be constructed will be at the Aurora Municipal Airport and will be a unique design. If the city were to build this sign itself, it would cost around $250,000, according to a staff report included with the meeting’s agenda.
The airport sign is planned to be 30 feet tall and 27 feet wide with a 9-foot by 18-foot digital display, renderings of the sign show.
Other signs are set to be placed at “gateways” into the city, although their exact location and number was not decided at the meeting. Their design is set to be smaller than the airport sign, with a total size of just under 12 feet tall and 15 feet wide with a 6-foot by 12-foot digital display, renderings show.
These signs would normally cost the city around $100,000 each, according to the staff report.
All of the digital advertisements will be static images with no flashes or movement, according to Community Digital Display’s Bill Przybylski.
He said the city will be able to use the signs for community events, Amber alerts, severe weather alerts and more.
In addition to constructing, maintaining and operating the signs at no cost to the city, the company will also not charge for art or design work for the city’s community messages on the digital display, Przybylski said.
Beyond the benefits to the city, the signs will also benefit local businesses by providing an alternative advertising source, which specifically could help out “mom and pop” businesses, he said. The company also partners with local chambers of commerce to help the local community, he said.
A number of aldermen had concerns about the signs, including with their size. Alds. Ted Mesiacos, 3rd Ward, and Bill Donnell, 4th Ward, both said the signs were almost billboard-sized.
Some aldermen were also concerned about the placement of the “gateway” signs, since the number and locations of these signs had not yet been determined.
Originally it was proposed that the mayor’s office would choose the location of the signs, but after a lengthy discussion, aldermen voted 7-5 to require the location of the signs be approved by the City Council Building, Zoning and Economic Development Committee, with the option for aldermen to appeal the decision to the full City Council.
Ultimately the Aurora City Council voted 9-3 to approve the agreement with Community Digital Displays. Alds. Mesiacos, Donnell and John Laesch, at-large, voted against it.
Mayor Richard Irvin recused himself from the discussion. He said that, although he did not have a conflict of interest, he would recuse himself to avoid the appearance of one.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com