Still "Screwed By The Town of Cary"?

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After reading the latest—a story on the website of The News & Observer—in the saga between the Town of Cary(where I, a native North Carolinian not a relocated Yankee, have lived since1982) and Cary resident David Bowden, the man who wrote “Screwed by the Town ofCary” on the side of his house because of a dispute over the widening ofMaynard Road and the damaging results to his property and home, I dashed of ashort email to all the members of the Cary Town Council. (Funny, it’s the Townof Cary, but it’s the Cary Town Council. Why isn’t it known as the Town of CaryCouncil?)

My email, sent to Gale Adcock, DonFrantz, Erv Portman, Jennifer Robinson, Julie Robison, Jack Smith, and HaroldWeinbrecht, said: “Get over it. Move on. Quit spending my tax money on losingissues.”

That was Wednesday, April 20^that 6:04 p.m. By 11:00 that night, I heard from Mr. Portman, an at-large memberof the Town of Cary Council. Before 10:00 a.m. the next day, I heard from Mr.Weinbrecht, the honorable Mr. Mayor of the Town of Cary, or is he the Cary TownMayor.

They each raise interesting andsupportable points, and in all fairness to them and my fellow citizens of theTown of Cary, I offer the responses by Mr. Portman and Mr. Weinbrecht, just aswritten to me without editing. Here goes:

From Erv Portman, who copied all thoseto whom I sent my three-sentence email:

Jim,

Firstthanks for sharing your thoughts on this issue. It helps to hear what citizensare thinking.

Inthis case I can tell you we have evaluated the towns case and the costs andhave decided to appeal the judges decision. Having already met or nearly met ourinsurance deductible you will be happy to hear that this appeal is mostlycovered by the insurance we have already paid for, so it's not on your taxdollar or mine.

Ican also tell you that we feel strongly that the citizens of cary have a rightsto regulate how our town looks, and that should not require us to regulateholiday decorations to do so. I expect the overwhelming majority of caryresidents would not appreciate their neighbors turning their neighborhood intoa series of house sized billboards.

Norshould cary residents be blackmailed into buying someones house just becausethey have a beef with the town. That's our money too, and frankly a badprecedent. 

Muchis at stake over our ability to protect the look and feel of cary. It is uniqueand one of the reasons so many of us choose to live here. I feel this can beprotected and not violate ones right to free speech. 

Isuspect you may not agree, ant i respect that too, but my responsibility is tobe open and explain my actions. If you care to discuss this further I am opento a call or meeting with you.

Respectfullyin service to you and all of cary,

Ervportman
Cary town council member at large

And,without further ado or additional comments, here’s the response from Mr. Mayor,who included Susan Moran, Town of Cary Public Information Director, and DeannaBoone, Town of Cary Deputy Public Information Officer, on his distributionalong with the rest of the Town of Cary Council. Again, without editing:

Mr. Pomeranz,

Thank you for contacting council members about the ongoing case onthe sign ordinance.

Unfortunately, the article written was misleading, incomplete, andin my opinion was generating news rather than reporting it.

Here is some information you should know:

- To appeal the town had to ask Judge Flanagan to reconsiderwhich we did a few weeks ago. Of course she said no but that is part ofthe process. So basically the N&O is rehashing old news and reporting thatwe are continuing a process (without printing it). To leave that point outmakes it more sensational and helps sell papers.

- The cost of this appeal will be significantly less and may notcost us much more at all. The reason, the leading firm is appointed by theinsurance company and we have reached our deductible. So most, if not all, offuture costs will be shouldered by the insurance company. Once again, to leavethis significant point out helps sell papers.

- If we don't appeal one of two things will happen: 1) we will notbe able to regulate any kind of sign anywhere. This means your neighbor couldput up a 50 foot sign will flashing lights and there would be nothing we coulddo about it. OR 2) we would have to regulate Christmas decorations which Ipersonally think is absurd. Of course the paper has never printed theconsequences of doing nothing.

- We believe this ruling is not about the 1st amendment. As amatter of fact Mr. Bowden has always been allowed to put his message on a signin his yard. If he would have done this then none of this would ever havehappened. Again, the paper fails to mention that he can put a sign in his yard.

- It is important to understand that the council's decision toappeal is to protect the sign ordinance which protects our citizens' quality oflife.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Thanks again for taking the time to contact the council.

Harold Weinbrecht
Mayor
Town of Cary
PO Box 8005
Cary, North Carolina 27512-8005
919-469-4011
harold.weinbrecht@townofcary.org

"In executing the duties of my present important station, Ican promise nothing but purity of intentions, and, in carrying these intoeffect, fidelity, and diligence." - George Washington

Please note that e-mail sent to and from this address is subject to the NorthCarolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties including themedia.

Thanks to Mr. Portman and Mr. Weinbrecht for their quick and thoughtful responses. It’llbe interesting to follow this case to the United States Supreme Court becausewin or lose by either party in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the UnitedStates Supreme Court will be asked to hear the case. It may refuse the case and leave standing whatever the Fourth Circuit decides.

Of course, if you wish to comment on the "story" or the responses from the Town of Cary Council members, there's space below, or send an email to the Town of Cary Mayor who I'm sure will share with his fellow Town of Cary Council members and me.

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POST SCRIPT: Shortly after posting this story, I received an email from publicity hungry Don Frantz, also a member of the Town of Cary Council. He said:

Jim,

Thank you very much for taking the time to contact the council with yourthoughts regarding the David Bowden sign dispute. I see that councilmemberPortman and the Mayor have already responded in detail and there is not much Ican add to their comments. I will add however that I was disappointed - but notsurprised - to see a number of my quotes left out of the News and Observerstory.

The point I tried to get across to the reporter was that we are not trying tosilence Mr. Bowden's right to free speech. We do however as a community havestandards. He is more than welcome to place a sign in his yard that complieswith town requirements that says exactly what his existing sign does now. We donot regulate content.

Thanks again for writing,

Don Frantz
Cary Town Council
District B
919-612-6870
don.frantz@townofcary.org