Trent Lakes council found itself in the position of not being able to make a decision about a request from the Buckhorn Lions Club to put an electronic sign at the intersection of County Road 36 and Lakehurst Road.
Lions Club President Louis Melizan made a presentation to council at the May 19th meeting asking to place an electronic community information sign up on a granite ledge in the south/west corner of the intersection.
This week planner Adele Arbour told council that municipal staff reviewed the Trent Lakes Community Improvement Plan (CIP) and determined that electric signs are not permitted in the CIP area.
Arbour said that without a survey the municipality cannot determine if the proposed sign location is within the County Road allowance or on private property.
Staff reached out to Peterborough County and the province about best practices concerning sign placement along roadways of their jurisdictions. The proposed location would not be supported as the location of the proposed electronic sign.
Arbour said staff do not recommend support for the proposed signage at the location.
She noted that the Buckhorn Community Centre was given a permit in 2022 for a sign that is identified as a community information sign.
Councillor Peter Franzen said he was concerned because Councillor John Braybrook, the councillor for Harvey Ward (which includes the proposed location) was not at this week’s meeting. Franzen then put forward a motion asking to defer the vote until the next council meeting.
There was no seconder for the motion and it failed.
Deputy Mayor Carol Armstrong said she has heard from a number of people who are concerned about the request to put an electronic sign in a very prominent place in a four-way intersection.
“I agree it is not a safe, nor particularly cosmetically attractive, place,” Armstrong said.
“I’m not rejecting the sign but not at that particular location,” Armstrong said.
Councillor Joe Cadigan said he agreed with Armstrong’s comments and said the intersection is already busy enough and it does not need the addition of an electronic sign.
She presented a motion to accept staff’s recommendation to deny the request but that motion failed in a recorded vote with Armstrong and Cadigan voting for it and Franzen and Lambshead voting against.
At this point Mayor Terry Lambshead said that he was hoping council could find another option.
Lambshead then said that because the motion to defer failed and the motion to accept staff’s recommendation also failed he was unsure what the procedure was for what to do next.
“This is an elevated sign that you don’t see unless you look up,” Lambshead added.
Clerk Jessie Clark suggested that a motion be introduced to receive the staff report for information. A motion to do that was presented and carried.
