Kalona Chamber told about new signage plans

By Mary Zielinski
Lucas Newton and Kelly Beckler of MMS Consultants, Iowa City, provided details to Kalona Chamber of Commerce members Monday for four new highway signs to welcome visitors to Kalona. The signs, designed with brick pillars and carved strong fronts, would be at the north and south boundaries on Highway 1 and the east and west ones along Highway 22.
A key part of the signs is a logo for the town and MMS had ones with a quilt design and one using both the quilt design and more than 30-year old horse and buggy one. The buggy design, which is on the current and only welcome sign at the intersection of Highway 1 and 22, was created only after meetings with the area’s Amish. At that time, the Amish viewed its use as a safety factor, telling drivers there are horse drawn vehicles in the area.
Monday, Chamber Member Steve Reif urged retaining the horse and buggy logo, both for the tourism and safety aspects.
A number of Chamber members agreed that the design featuring the quilt logo and the horse and buggy was “the most dramatic.” Reif said that the use of the two was “pure dynamite.”
Reif also stressed the signs should be lighted, “that it is a very inexpensive form of advertising.” Beckler indicated that lighting will be part of the design, and also noted that the property owners in the four possible sites have been contacted about using the land.
The update for other revitalization projects included signs and marked crosswalks for B Avenue and Highway 1 and 5th Street and highway 22, both the city’s main streets. Suggestions included designer lightpole.
The city has committed its municipal allocations form the Washington County Riverboat Foundation (WCRF) to help pay for the downtown revitalization and highway signage. However, further funding will be needed and Monday MMS noted specific sources: further grants from the WCRF, Vision Iowa’s Community Attractions and Tourism (CAT) grants and Community Development Block grants (for the sewer system updates). Application deadlines for these range from October to December.
Newton said that there will be a public meeting next month in the library to get public input about the plan.
In other business, he members learned:

• workers are needed for the Chamber’s booth at the Iowa State Fair;
• that Kalona will be at the Hoover Fest in West Branch August 1 where it will display and sell Kalona products. The Kalona Bakery and English River Antiques will be there; and
• the Chamber garage sale is Friday and Saturday at the Chamber Building.