SYRACUSE - Public opinion hasn't been favorable against an ordinance the Syracuse Town Council approved last month.

But townspeople who were at the council meeting Tuesday to speak out against it were denied the opportunity to do so.

The ordinance provides a $25 penalty for any person who places a sign in any public right of way located within Syracuse. The placement of each sign is a separate violation and each day of the violation of the ordinance is also a separate offense.

Town council president Barb Carwile said the ordinance was passed by all members of the town council so it wouldn't be addressed Tuesday with just three council members present and there wouldn't be any argument on it. Council members absent were Carol Koble and Bill Hane; present were Carwile, Larry Siegel and Paul Stoelting. If anyone wanted to argue about the ordinance, she said, they need to come back with all five members of the council present.

Carwile then went on to discuss the matter. The town council was voted into office by the townspeople to represent the town. She said her feeling was that they are not there to represent one group, such as the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce, but all of the approximately 3,000 people who live in Syracuse.

The town council meets once a month and there is rarely anyone at the meetings other than the council members, department heads and reporters, she said. If anyone has an issue with the town, she said, they need to come talk to the council members. She said she stands by the ordinance and "it's a safety factor."

Town manager Brian Redshaw said signs used to be posted on utility poles and they had to be taken down by town officials. The signs began migrating from the poles to ditches and other public rights of way. An ordinance was passed to prohibit signs in public rights of way, but the council had to approve an amendment to the ordinance in February because the original ordinance didn't have a penalty clause.

"We are real people that care about people," said Redshaw, but that being said, he said, he is here to enforce any laws that the council passed.

Councilman Larry Siegel said the law should be written in the way that it is going to be enforced; as Redshaw said, they don't always fine violators every time they see them. The violators may just be warned and their signs taken away from them. Carwile said the ordinance will be enforced under the system they have now.

Paul Stoelting, councilman, said when they passed the original ordinance regarding no signs in the right of way, he said at that time he thought they needed to include a part about allowing temporary signs for temporary events, especially for fund-raisers. When the ordinance was first discussed, it was to address the signs that were out in public rights of way for "weeks on end."

Siegel said he doesn't want the town to be trashed up with signs, but he also doesn't want to see fund-raisers stifled.

"The policy should really say what we intend to do," he said. He said it needs to be more thought out and serve the purpose the town council wants it to serve.

Redshaw said he will look at a permitting process to allow for temporary signs.

Carwile said the issue will not be revisited until all five council members are present. After the conclusion of that discussion, members of the public who were not allowed to speak about the matter walked out.

In other business, the town council:

• Approved an accounting services agreement with H.J. Umbaugh & Associates, Plymouth, to conduct a preliminary accounting study to determine the town's current financial condition and establish a proposed funding plan for the town's preparation to expand and upgrade its municipal water utility.

• Approved an ordinance modifying prior ordinances relating to rates, charges and services rendered by the water works system of Syracuse.

• Heard a report from Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent Mike Hixenbaugh that the community center has had 5,601 visits so far this year and 15,258 since the doors opened in June, including repeat visitors.

He also reported the town has been awarded $7,500 from the Urban Forestry Conservation "Working Trees Grant."

The Tree Board is planning an Arbor Day celebration April 25 at Syracuse Elementary School. Spring Break Camp will be April 7-11 for first-, second- and third-grade students. This full-day camp will include crafts, nature and physical activities.

• Reappointed Bill Musser and Bill Wight to the Syracuse Municipal Building Corp. and accepted Siegel's resignation from the park board.

The Syracuse Town Council meets at 7 p.m. in the town hall on the third Monday of every month. [[In-content Ad]]