The Government of the Student Body will vote Wednesday on whether or not to allocate $20,000 to finishing the Memorial Union’s electronic sign.

In 1993, the Union had the idea to repair the sign on the south side of the building, said Richard Reynolds, director of the Union. In 2004 they sought ways to fix the sign, but discovered the parts necessary were no longer being produced. By 2006, the Union decided to retain the base of the sign and replace the electronic portion.  

The Union then approached GSB in 2006 seeking help to fund the project, said Engineering Senator Daniel Finnegan, senior in aerospace engineering. GSB agreed to donate $30,000 to the project.

With a $13,000 donation from ISU Dining, and $54,000 from MU Capital Projects, combined with the $30,000 from GSB, the Union had $97,000 toward the sign, Reynolds said.  

The university then said that the sign should follow the design of the welcome sign just south of Jack Trice Stadium.  The Union hired an architect to draw the sign, which was quoted $128,000, Reynolds said.

The MU then sought another opinion, which quoted the project $140,000.

Recently, the price of the sign has dropped, as the price of the technology drops because it is being mass produced, Reynolds said. 

“We received a quote of $120,000 on Monday,” he said. 

Reynolds said they are anticipating that the sign will be in place next year, although they are unsure of whether it will be in the fall or spring.

However, without the financial assistance from GSB, it is unlikely that the Union will be able to raise enough money for the sign, Finnegan said.

Additionally, if the Union decides to give up on the project, they will have to give back the $30,000 GSB donated in 2006.  

But Reynolds and Finnegan agree that GSB will benefit from the sign.

“The sign will permanently feature GSB’s logo,” Finnegan said.

“The time for the LED scroll will be divided 50-50 between the MU and GSB.” The time allocated to GSB will be used for student groups to advertise themselves and their events free of charge, Finnegan said.     

“The scroll time will also be equal, so there’s no chance GSB will get nothing but 2-6 a.m. times,” Finnegan said.

However, Reynolds pointed out that many student organizations such as SUB and the M-Shop will fall under the Union’s time, rather than GSB’s. Reynolds said that subsequently, GSB will receive more than 50 percent of the time on the LED scroll.

“The MU sign is a quality project that will provide student organizations a new, effective, and free method of advertising themselves to the student body and will continue to demonstrate GSB’s commitment to partnering with the university to make ISU a better place,” Finnegan said.