April 4, 2018 at 5:30 p.m.
Sign ordinance goes back for teeth
Last month, the council finalized an ordinance limiting the length of time that garage and yard sale signs could stay up after the sale ended. Violators will be fined $25 a day until their signs are removed.
New Councilman Ed Johnson suggested at that meeting the town should look into ways to regulate other rogue signage, specifically the internet service signs that have gone up around town with many tacked up on individual poles.
At Tuesday's council meeting, Town Manager J.T. Doane presented a new ordinance for advertising signs, requiring that anyone wanting to post such a sign should pay a $25 fee to allow them to post the signs for a month. The approval could then be renewed for $25 a month later.
Johnson and other council members suggested that the new ordinance lacked a punishment for those breaking the law. Many advertisers would gladly pay $25 for the privilege of posting the unsightly signs. He suggested a further $25 a day penalty.
Doane agreed that the fines should be added and the council tabled the ordinance until next month's meeting.
In other business, the Hope Town Council:
Animal Control Officer Lisa Hughes said she has been paying the costs herself. For example, after getting sprayed by a skunk she had to throw away her clothing and pay to clean the animal control vehicle. In one month last year, she took away 22 skunks in the town. She said wildlife management organizations would charge $200 for the same service.
Marshal Matt Tallent said that before Hughes the town would simply not take calls to handle wild animals.
Councilwoman Nellie Meek said she was concerned that people would not be able to pay the fee to remove a wild animal and instead of dealing with the problem, someone could get hurt.
The council decided to table the discussion.
