Fort Assiniboine digital sign is unrepairable

FORT ASSINIBOINE –The digital sign in Fort Assiniboine is broken and not repairable.

On Wednesday, Dec. 18 at the Woodlands County council meeting the Fort Assiniboine Legion sent in a letter on Sept. 27 regarding the town's digital sign.

The letter requested information on what is happening with digital sign which has not been working since 2022.

“We sent out an electrician. He looked at it he and thought he fixed it. It worked for little bit and then it didn't work,” said Heather Anderson, community service coordinator for Woodlands County.

“He went back out and finally said it's just not repairable. There were some issues with communication between the postings.”

Anderson reported that in 2013 the Fort Assiniboine Legion wanted to use a $15,000 capital grant they received to buy a digital sign.

A formal agreement for the sign was made with the Pembina Hills School Division to locate the digital sign on their property.

The Fort Assiniboine librarian was the point of contact for postings on the digital sign.

There were multiple organizations that came to together to contribute to the $25,000 needed to purchase the sign in 2014.

The digital sign started to have intermittent problems in 2020, and maintenance was coordinated by Woodlands County.

The agreement with Woodlands County was for maintenance and not for replacement according to Anderson.

The Blue Ridge community raised money in the community to buy a digital sign for their community.

Woodlands County has not funded community signage for any other community within the county.

Anderson said there is positive and negative feedback from Fort Assiniboine’s community members regarding the sign.

“Some like it and some find it a distraction,” commented Anderson.

Coun. Devin Williams remarked, “I get a number of calls about the sign and overwhelming support for the sign. The only negative I have heard is that people wish there was a dimmer.”

Anderson researched other communities and their experience in purchasing signage if Woodlands County considered replacing the Fort Assiniboine digital sign, and the costs range from $63,000 to $140,000.

Williams did his own research and got estimates ranging from $23,000 to $40,000 but acknowledged that the costs could be higher dependant on the type of sign required.

No money has been budgeted in 2025 for any such initiative.

Discussion among all of the councillors as to whether individual communities should look for funds through grants or fundraising if interested in a hamlet digital sign occurred.

The common opinion was that fairness for all communities was most important and that a decision could not be made for only one community and not the others.

Anderson said another organization in Fort Assiniboine had a kiosk that was used prior to the digital sign installation in 2014 that could potentially be resurrected with some seed money from the County.

Williams voiced his feedback on the messages from residents that they want this sign.

The motion with amendments that was passed and Woodlands County Council directed administration to engage with the community of Fort Assiniboine.

The community will review sign options and provide a maximum funding for $10,000 be budgeted in the 2026 Budget deliberations.

The Council directed administration to release a statement to the public on the digital sign in Fort Assiniboine and the inability to be repaired.