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Alpena Public Works seeks public input to name plow trucks

Courtesy Photo Above, the City of Alpena Public Works Department’s new plow truck is being outfitted to prepare for the upcoming winter season.

ALPENA — Across the U.S., many communities have begun to name the plow trucks that keep their community streets cleared of snow and safe to travel.

These programs allow for the communities to have a sense of “ownership” above and beyond capital purchases utilizing their tax dollars.

Alpena Fleet Manager Doug Roznowski suggested the City of Alpena also name its plow trucks. With a new truck due to arrive shortly, the city felt it was time to implement this process.

The guidelines for the program are as follows:

¯ Name must be family friendly and not include profanity, inappropriate language, or unsuitable inuendoes.

¯ Names or words protected by copyright or trademark will not be allowed. However, good-humored puns involving people, places, and names are acceptable.

¯ Suggested plow truck names must be short enough to fit on trucks.

¯ Names which are derogatory to the City of Alpena, its employees, or any other person or organization will not be considered.

¯ Names must be submitted to the City of Alpena via email at publicworks@alpena.mi.us. All submissions must include the following information to be considered: Appropriate plow truck name, name of submitter, contact information (mailing address, phone number, email address), and age (optional).

¯ After the submission period has been closed, employees from the Department of Public Works will evaluate the names and submit a list of candidates to the selection committee.

¯ The selection committee will further narrow down the options to an appropriate number of options. The selection committee will have the final say on which names will be considered.

¯ Once the final list has been established by the selection committee, the public will be provided with the opportunity to vote on plow truck names.

¯ By submitting your entry, you agree to the City of Alpena using your submitted entry in a public and official capacity.

¯ Winning names and the submitter of the name will be shared in a news release, City of Alpena website, and on City of Alpena social media sites.

¯ Selected submitters will be notified via phone or email.

Submitters wishing to do so will be presented with a certificate of appreciation from the City of Alpena at a regularly scheduled City Council meeting, or another mutually agreed upon venue (school, youth organization event, city park, etc.) within the city limits.

Currently, the city has seven trucks to name including its newest truck slated to arrive sometime this fall.

Names from the public will be accepted until Friday, Oct. 11. Staff selections will take place through Oct. 18. Public voting will take place through Oct. 31.

This should allow staff time to have their plow trucks named and ready for work this winter.

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