Wednesday, August 25, 2010
BY KAREN SUDOL – The Record – STAFF WRITER
DEMAREST – Some residents are raising objections about the appearance and location of a new municipal electronic sign in town.
Several residents at the Borough Council meeting Monday night complained that the message board, located at the corner of County Road and Hardenburgh Avenue, detracts from the view of the duck pond, contributes to a commercial look and will distract drivers trying to read it as they navigate the busy intersection.
“I think it’s too large and it’s not in keeping with the character of the town,” said Raymond Cywinski, a Republican mayoral candidate. “It looks like steel posts with a flat-screen TV on it.”
The $24,650 sign is part of the borough’s $550,000 downtown streetscape project that has involved the replacement of sidewalks and curbs along with the repaving of Park Street. Still to come are old-fashioned street lights, an antique clock, plantings and benches.
The new sign will announce everything from meetings to events to emergency alerts.
The borough has been using a smaller, temporary sign at the corner of Hardenburgh Avenue and Park Street, but it’s more difficult to see.
Resident Luisa Pittaluga asked the mayor several questions about the new sign, including whether he believed it was too large.
Mayor James Carroll responded no, stating earlier that he was “all for it.”
“I have a difficult time believing we will have a mass migration out of town because of a billboard,” Carroll said.
Pittaluga said in a later interview that the sign should be removed.
The 8-foot-tall sign, which was installed several weeks ago and will use amber lights, has not yet been activated.
Councilman Steven Conti said the sign isn’t complete yet; it will be improved with flowers and bushes planted around its base “to make it more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.” The sign will read “Welcome to Demarest” instead of “Borough of Demarest” at the top of the marker, and the borough seal may be added to it.
But some residents aren’t convinced.
“It really looks cheap and takes away from the look of the whole community,” said Steve Schliem.
E-mail: sudol@northjersey.com
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.