For the portion of the public upset by the “Trump 2024” sign on Route 28 north of the Village of Milford, help may be on the way.
Anna Johnson, Rome Sign Co. business manager, said the billboard’s current renter has a contract that runs out in April, and a new customer has picked up the contract, so “Trump 2024” may be gone by the end of that month, “depending on the weather.”
Meanwhile, the company has a contract with the “Trump 2024” customer – it was “Trump 2020” until the Nov. 3 election – that it is bound to honor, and will honor, Johnson said.
Meanwhile, “everyone’s called me” about it, she said, particularly since the Milford Town Planning Board last month threatened to fine the village if it wasn’t removed. (The billboard is in the town, but on property owned by the village.) It turns out the town Planning Board lacks jurisdiction to fine anyone.
Over the period of controversy – the billboard’s been up for a couple of years – Johnson said she’s been approached a couple of times by people offering to take out long-term contracts, simply to get the message removed.
MILFORD – For the portion of the public upset by the “Trump 2024” sign on Route 28 north of the Village of Milford, help may be on the way.
Anna Johnson, Rome Sign Co. business manager, said the billboard’s current renter has a contract that runs out in April, and a new customer has picked up the contract, so “Trump 2024” may be gone by the end of that month, “depending on the weather.”
It’s unclear whether a Town Planning Board effort to have the “Trump 2024” billboard on Route 28 removed is going anywhere.
The town Planning Board was expected to take the issue up Monday, Feb. 1, but the meeting at the town hall in Portlandville was cancelled due to the snowstorm.
Meanwhile, Town Zoning Officer Barbara Monroe drew a line in the sand, saying she has the sole authority to levy fines when zoning violations occur, not the Planning Board.
I have no intention of writing a violation on that sign,” at least for now, she said Monday.
Tuesday, Town Attorney Hyde Clarke, while saying his advice to town bodies is covered by attorney-client privilege, said Monroe’s right.
“It’s not really a planning issue,” he said. “The town has zoning regulations.”
And Town Clerk Rosemary Aborn and Zoning Board of Appeals chairman Al Bullard both said they’re not aware the issue is on this month’s agendas of the town board or ZBA.
“It sounds like a Demo-cratic plot,” said Bullard.
Events were set in motion two weeks ago, Village Mayor Brian Pokorny said, when two town Planning Board members approached him, advising him to remove the billboard or face fines; no amount was specified.
