East Aurora Advertiser

Public Hearing Set for Proposed Updates in Elma Sign Code



The Elma Town Board will host a public hearing for updates concerning its sign code changes. The hearing will be June 15 at 7 p.m.

For months, the town has had a committee look at regulating LED message boards in town. The current proposal would severely limit the installation of those signs to only Transit Road or on municipal property. 

The code changes would have details for how bright a sign could be, general hours one could be lit, the size of the sign and areas where they would be restricted. Councilman James Malczewski, who has chaired the sign committee, said after much discussion the thought was to only allow the signs in the heavily business region of Transit Road – a permit would still be needed to install one – and keep them out of the rest of town. 

“No one [on the committee] was in favor of LED signs in town,” Malczewski said at an earlier meeting. 

Cell Tower Colocation Hearing

Another public hearing for June 15 at 7 p.m. is whether to allow Verizon Wireless to install a device on the communication town now in place at 145 Stolle Road. The company is looking to co-locate with an antenna on the tower to help with data and communication usage. A representative for the company said that the area of east Elma is “overloaded” and by approving the installation of the device it would help relieve that problem. He said there is no coverage “hole,” just an overuse.  

The tower is owned by NYSEG, and the board approved the tower’s installation in 2013.

Fireworks

The Elma Town Board also agreed to spend more money on the annual fireworks show for July 4. 

Supervisor Wayne Clark said the company that handles the fireworks, Skylighters, was asking $13,225, a $1,500 increase from last year. After a brief discussion, the motion to pay for it was approved. 

Clark said the company informed him that shipping costs had tripled in the past year for fireworks. It was also noted that the company, which has conducted the show for the town for many years, kept its fee at $10,000 for many years until increasing it last year. Clark noted the show last year was longer, and the board agreed that the fee increase was worth it for residents. 

While the Iroquois Central School District is going through extensive construction towards its capital project on Girdle Road, Clark said there will be no problem in hosting the fireworks in the same location on Girdle Road as has been done in past years. 

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