Central Whidbey Soccer Club participants learn the game early.
Word has come down from the top.
Coupeville Mayor Nancy Conard has issued a response to those who contacted her after a furor broke out over the non-profit Central Whidbey Soccer Club being ordered to remove its banner sign from the fence next to the overpass at Highway 20.
Her email in full:
Thank you for contacting us with your concern.
Yesterday there was communication between our new Town Planner and representatives of the Central Whidbey Soccer Organization.
As the communication continued, Tammy and I talked and realized there was some misunderstanding and miscommunication.
Tammy forwarded a clarification and apology to the two people with whom she was communicating. It appears her original communications were shared with others, but not the subsequent clarification and apology.
A copy of her email follows:
“After discussing this matter more at length with the Mayor I have come to realize that we have had a communication issue on this. At issue is not that the sign itself is wrong or illegal, it is that it is located on Town property.
The informal practice on signs on the Town/DOT fence has been to allow local non-profits to put up signs for events/activities for up to a week.
It has been observed that this sign has been up for a couple of weeks and we believe that it is time for it to come down.
As I have already discussed with Robert Wood, we are asking that it be taken down by Monday at the latest.
I apologize for the miscommunication. I am new to the community and I am still trying to learn all the rules and policies that govern the Town. I ask that you be patient and bear with me.”
For the last 20 years that I have been mayor, we have had an informal policy of allowing signs to be placed on the fence, and have requested they be limited to about a week.
The time limit is necessary to allow the many organizations who would like this opportunity a chance to put up a sign, and to ensure that the information posted is “fresh.”
Although we informally allow the signs, they are not to be wrapped around the fence and parallel to Hwy 20. DOT will remove signs in that location.
If this explanation does not adequately address your concerns, please let me know. Feel free to share this email with others who may have received some of the communications, but not all.
Thank you.
In a follow-up email, Conard was asked if the CWSC would be allowed to hang their banner in the future, under the one-week time limit. Her response was short and to the point.
“You bet!”
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