By John Estridge
Brookville businessman Rick Gill said he was trying to help out a fellow Brookville businessman.
According to Gill, it is tough for a business to make it in Brookville, and said one just has to look at the empty store fronts on Main Street to realize that.
Art Weber, owner of Jansing Auto Body, wanted to hang a banner sign on Rick Gill’s Brookville Gun Shop building at the corner of Sixth and Main streets in Brookville. Gill said yes. Jansing’s business is just one-half mile west of that intersection off Sixth Street/St. Mary’s Road, but it cannot be seen from Main Street.
Gill explained the material and art work on it is like one would see on a professional billboard.
However, Gill has to get a variance from the county because the size of the sign is in violation of the town’s sign ordinance, which is more restrictive than the county’s sign ordinance in the county zoning code.
And if Gill advertised for his own business with the size of sign he has for Jansing’s, he would not have to get a variance, town and zoning officials said during the sometimes confusing Wednesday, August 12, Franklin County Board of Zoning Appeals meeting.
Weber and Gill have been trying to get official permission for the sign for a year or more stretching back into 2019. Gill has been sporting the sign on his building during the interim.
BZA President Paula Keller read a letter written for the Town of Brookville by Brookville Clerk/Treasurer Gina Gillman back in 2019, which said the town council has no stance regarding the variance on the sign situation.
Brookville Administrator Tim Ripperger talked about the sign ordinance and why the sign is too large for the town’s ordinance and again explained if Gill were advertising for his own Brookville Gun Shop business, then Gill would not have to seek a variance.
BZA member Ed Derickson added an amendment to Bob Braun’s motion to pass the variance. And the variance had to be voted on before the original motion was put out for a vote. Derickson wanted Gill to add some extra metal strips on the banner to make sure the wind does not get behind it. And that amendment passed even though Gill said the sign had withstood some violent winds while it has been on his building. He could not guarantee it would withstand a tornado, though.
After more discussion, Gill’s variance, after adding the amendment to the variance, passed in a 4-1 vote with David Mannix voting against it.
But Gill’s journey is not over as he has to go before Brookville Town Council again to get a permit before the sign can legally go back up on his building.
Gill told BZA members he was told by some BTC members BTC plans on amending their sign ordinance in the near future.