The fence at Plaisted Park will remain uncovered by advertising that could have brought added revenue to Cape Elizabeth Little League. The school athletic fields could see ad signs, however.
The Town Council voted 6-1 (Roberts opposed) to eliminate Plaisted Park from a proposed change to the sign ordinance that would have allowed advertising at Plaisted Park and the school athletic fields. Signs have been allowed at the Lions field since 1997.
John Thibodeau, chairman of Cape Little League, explained to the Town Council at their meeting on Monday evening that it was an innocent request from the Little League, “an attempt at identifying added sources of revenue.”
However, Thibodeau said, after seeing the large response from the resident, perhaps the Little League should have reached out to the neighborhood for input before asking the council to weigh in. Thibodeau asked the council to table the request and give time for the Little League to meet with residents, parents and booster groups to discuss the issue.
No members of the public wished to comment on the issue of allowing advertising at Plaisted and the school fields.
The council rejected two efforts to table the discussion until the next Town Council meeting on May 9, one by Councilor Mike Mowles and the other by Councilor David Backer.
It was clear most councilors felt strongly that advertising should not be allowed at Plaisted Park and the discussion should not be put off until May. Councilor Mary Ann Lynch suggested removing from consideration ads at Plaisted Park, while allowing advertising at the school athletic fields.
Backer called the request “very innocuous” when it was first made and said he would have voted to allow ads at Plaisted Park last week, but his mind was changed by the response from residents.
“I was amazed when I saw the number of e-mails that came through over the past 48 hours,” said Backer. However, he said far too many of the e-mails referred to “billboards.”
“These are not billboards,” Backer said. “What they are are four-and-a-half foot signs that will hang for four months.”
Backer voted to not allow signs at Plaisted Park because he couldn’t ignore the residents’ concerns, but he used the opportunity to point out what happens when an issue is sprung upon the public without using the proper avenues to inform and collect input from them first.
Lynch said that she wouldn’t allow ads at Plaisted Park because it is right across the street from Fort Williams Park, “the most visited spot in town, perhaps one of the most visited spots in Maine,” she said.
“It’s Little League,” Lynch said. “It’s an activity for kids that can happen without marring the environment.”
Councilor Jack Roberts was the sole supporter of allowing signs at Plaisted Park.
“It would be nice to look inland to see that the Cape community supports its Little League,” he said.
Advertising at the school’s athletic fields was deemed appropriate because the area was not as residential and councilors realized that with the tight school budget the additional revenue could be useful.
Mowles wondered, however, if it would not be better to table the vote on advertising at the school athletic fields. Unlike Plaisted Park, there was little to no response from the public about the athletic fields at the school.
All the councilors applauded Thibodeau and the Little League for being sensitive to the public’s concerns and encouraged Thibodeau to continue gathering input from neighbors of Plaisted Park in an attempt to find a way to accommodate both groups.
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