Wow! Front page of the Burlington Free Press. Very exciting. The BFP was the very first media outlet to reply to my requests to look into this matter. Apparently the news department at the BFP has a leg up on the Circulation department (Over the past year or so I have more problems with delivery of my morning paper than I care to recount).
Since my original posting I have now had responses from WCAX, WPTZ and the BFP. Let’s see if the TV news people jump on board. I’ve also had responses from Representative George Till and Senator Tim Ashe – not sure yet what they plan to do, but both indicated they would look into it.
JERICHO — The state of Vermont has ordered a Jericho truck dealership to stop using its commercial sign to promote charitable causes in the region.
Clark’s Truck Center, on Vermont 15 and Orr Road in Jericho, has used its 3-by-10-foot message sign to alert the community about blood drives, church suppers, the Labor Day parade, community barbecues and fundraisers, along with birthdays and other celebrations. Jericho town officials say that’s just what the sign should be used for.
John LaBarge of the Vermont Transportation Agency said Monday the sign violates state law by promoting events that are off premises. Announcements need to be limited to the business.
LaBarge, the agency’s representative to the state Travel Information Council, said the council will consider legal action at its meeting Thursday in Montpelier if the owner, Randy H. Clark, refuses to comply with the law.
Clark’s either must remove the sign or limit it to the provisions of state law, LaBarge said.
“We have had quite a few digital signs, and everyone has come into compliance. He is the
only one not to come into compliance,” said LaBarge, a former state legislator from Grand
Isle County.
Clark said he has been told state law allows him to advertise “truck sales” or “batteries 20
percent off,” but not events unrelated to his business. Clark said the Transportation Agency is relying on a September 1977 opinion from then-Attorney General M. Jerome Diamond. The opinion states digital signs should remain constant for 15 minutes and have a 30 to 60 second pause before changing.
Clark said a lot has changed in the past 34 years, and he hopes the state is willing to revisit
the guidelines. The sign also has been used for safety messages and road closings, said Clark, a former
longtime chief with the Underhill-Jericho Volunteer Fire Department.
The state law also appears to be at odds with Jericho land use and development regulations. Town Planner Seth Jensen, in a Feb. 14 letter to Clark, wrote that the sign should not be used to advertise items for sale, and instead should “announce events hosted by local organizations, public meetings, fund raisers for nonprofit organizations, or similar displays. Displays containing holiday messages or birthday messages would be considered ‘non-commercial’ in nature,” Jensen wrote.
Clark said he has offered compromises, but the state has appeared inflexible. Clark said he received a visit Jan. 20 from an assistant attorney general interested in talking with him only if he was not represented by a lawyer. Clark said after the discussion, he decided he would attend the next meeting of the Travel Information Council and planned only to listen and educate himself about what the council does. Clark said he was shocked later to receive an agenda for this week’s meeting that listed possible legal action against his business.
“I’m guess I’m going to have to say something,” said Clark, who refuses to hire a lawyer. “I will not pay somebody to fight this case,” Clark said. “I guess if we have to, we will shut off the sign and stop raising money for charity.”
Clark said as people learn about his sign dilemma, he has received strong support from the community. He hopes to show some of those letters to the council.
Here’s how it works: Some local residents want to have a community event, a happy birthday or an anniversary noted on the sign. Although no fee is charged, users are urged to donate to “Clark’s Community Fund,” he said; the money is used for causes in the Underhill-Jericho area.
In the past year, the sign helped raise $4,269 for the North Underhill Cemetery Association, which did not have any money but needed to take two several large dead trees that were likely to topple and destroy historic grave markers. In January, Clark turned over $3,222 to Jim and Sue Carter, whose daughter and son-in-law lost many of their possessions when the Grand Army of the Republic Hall burned in November 2010. When the state recently stepped in, the sign was in the process of raising money for the Fisher family, whose Jericho house was damaged by fire in January. About $600 had been raised.
Clark said any worthy local cause is free to request donations.
Clark said his garage, established in 1927 on Vermont 15 near the Underhill-Jericho town line, was long know for providing information to the community. For many decades, an 18-inch clock, which was lit at night, was available for passing motorists. When the garage relocated in 1986, a mechanical time-and-temperature sign was included. Clark said it wore out after some 114 million flip-flops, and a new light-emitting diode (LED) display was installed in 2009. LaBarge said he believes Clark is charging people to have messages placed on the board. He said that is akin to the owner of a large billboard accepting advertising from a business. Vermont banned billboards in the 1970s as a way to clean up the landscape.
Clark, a seventh generation Vermonter, said he doesn’t charge, just accepts donations, and some people don’t pay. Clark said he does not insist on receiving money before posting a message on his sign.
He said when people stop by to have a sign posted, he encourages them to make a donation for a worthy cause. He said the donations have ranged from $5 to $100, and he estimated the average was probably about $25. All of the money in “Clark’s Community Fund goes toward charitable causes, he said.
He said the Browns River Middle School named Clark’s the business of the year in 2009 because of support for the events at school.
