The Waterloo City Council on Monday night approved new welcome signs to replace existing ones at the four main entrances to town. 

Cost of the four monument signs from Summit Signs & Graphics of Columbia is $72,425.82.

The signs at the north and south ends of Route 3 will be custom fabricated monument signs with faux stone bases. 

The signs at the east and west ends of Route 156 will be custom fabricated post and panel signs. 

All four welcome signs will be internally illuminated, according to the product specifications.

In other action Monday night, the council approved the purchase of a special Geographic Information Systems tracker module for the Waterloo Santa Float in the amount of $3,000.

City officials said this tracker module will allow residents to monitor the movement of the Santa Float as it travels throughout town so they can get an estimate of when it may be coming by their home.

Also, the council OK’d the purchase of a 2021 Ford Explorer SUV from Sunset Ford in the amount of $43,783 for the Waterloo Police Department. 

Rick Shawgo, who lives in the 200 block of Grand Avenue, voiced displeasure with drainage issues in recent years due to the oil and chipped roadway in his neighborhood.

He said the street could easily be graded, sloped and prepared beforehand to alleviate the problem.

“It’s a mess down there,” he said.

Mayor Tom Smith said the matter will be discussed during an upcoming street committee meeting.

Waterloo Director of Public Works Tim Birk said city workers are still cleaning up downed limbs, branches and other debris as a result of last Monday’s storm. He added that six of the city’s 12 electrical circuits were out at 6:05 p.m. that evening and all were back up by 9:15 p.m.

Lastly, Mayor Smith announced that in remembrance of the one-year anniversary of the death of Illinois State Police Trooper Nick Hopkins this Sunday, residents are encouraged to turn on blue porch lights outside their home from Aug. 23 to Sept. 1.