An excess number of signs on utility poles in Medford is leading the township to take action.
Township manager Chris Schultz said the township will use Clean Communities funds to pay for overtime for public works staff to go through the township and collect signs on utility poles.
“They’re going zone by zone and taking every sign down,” he said. “Then they’re storing them and the zoning officer will be inventorying them.”
Schultz has asked residents at previous meetings to not hang signs on utility poles, citing it is against state law.
The problems have stemmed from two sets of people. Schultz said some signs are from legitimate businesses, while others are from cell phone-operated businesses.
“A lot of these signs are from non-local people,” Schultz said. “They’re from businesses from all over the state.”
Schultz also said there are organizations intentionally putting signs high up on the poles and keeping them out of people’s reach.
“Some of these signs are very high up,” he said. “People are taking deliberative action to make sure these signs are so high, that you can’t just go and rip them down.”
The township will go through the confiscated signs and issue warnings to violators. The focus will be on legitimate businesses the township can track down, because the township is unable to go after cell phone-based businesses.
“The police are not allowed to look up those phone numbers,” Schultz said “It’s not a criminal issue.”
Schultz noted utility companies are responsible for enforcement. However, after talking with Atlantic City Electric, removing signage from poles is something they are not able to do regularly.
“They’re just as overwhelmed,” Schultz said. “They don’t have the resources.”
Councilman Randy Pace questioned using Clean Communities funding to clear utility poles.
“Why would we use our Clean Communities grant funding to pay for overtime?” he asked.
Schultz added the township would bill the utility companies in the future. He suggested going through the township twice a year to clean the poles as long as the utility companies were reimbursing the township.
Pace said the township should look into grants to help pay for pole clean up. Schultz said he would talk to the utility companies and inquire about programs in the coming weeks.
Council also discussed having a meeting with state legislators to amend the state law on utility poles. With the utility companies unable to keep up with enforcing the statute, Schultz suggested drafting an amendment to give municipalities enforcement powers.
