New News for Skaneateles

We have lot's of news in Skaneateles, and for that we welcome the Auburn Citizen's new newspaper the Skaneateles Journal. Not that the venerable Skaneateles Press and/or the Neighbors West don't do a good job [they do], it's just that we have so many issues we need more coverage.

Consider the most immediate pressing issues: charge for parking and sandwich board signs. [Fox and CNN just don't give us the coverage that these subjects deserve.]

After decades of struggling with too many cars and too few parking places it has occurred to us to charge a parking fee. Go figure! Local citizen Alan Dolmatch took two years to study this radical new Plan. My guess is that it took him 5 minutes to study and two years to get US to agree to it. For those of you who don't live here: We have a "Just-Say-No" Policy to anything that anyone wants to do.

As an example, 10 years ago I was asked to speak in support of the Community Docks for boat parking program. I did, as did others and then I listened as EVERY Board member spoke [as citizens] in favor. It was unanimously thought a good idea. They then [The Board] voted AGAINST the proposal. This is typical. [Of course a year later we are able to slip it through when nobody was looking. Ha!]

But this is all past tense. The more current raging debate concerns the proliferation of sidewalk sandwich board signs. Yup, we have a problem: they seem to be multiplying like mice, cluttering up our StoryBook Village.

Mr. and Ms. Village Board, listen up: Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. Temporary, portable informational signs are a good thing. They just need to be managed.

Add some additional subjective language [we do that all the time] to the existing sign rules.

Cook up a review committee.

Pick "X" number of locations that are appropriate for portable signs.

Distinguish between not-for-profits and business's.

Charge a lot of money for a sign license, then everybody with a sign has to rotate the location from a predetermined caledar. Whew! This is heady stuff.

Welcome Auburn Citizen and your Skaneateles Journal, we have a LOT to tell the world about.