The Town of Nichols Zoning Board met on Tuesday, with one of the topics on the agenda being an electronic sign that would be used by Tioga Downs, and located along the entrance to the West River Road casino and visible to the highway.
The sign was originally proposed at a height of 40-feet, but was revised to reflect a height of 30-feet in an attempt to gain the board’s approval. The sign will be approximately 12×24 in dimension, and is double-sided.
At the meeting on Tuesday, and after an outreach by Tioga Downs that was looking for support for the casino’s request for approval of the sign, the zoning board voted to table the application until June.
There were also a handful of area residents at the meeting, according to Town Councilman Bill Middleton, that were supportive of Tioga Downs’ application for the sign.
Middleton also shared that the vote will most likely come up sooner than June.
“It can’t be tabled for that long,” said Middleton.
It is unclear at this time as to why the zoning board has not yet offered approval for this sign, with some local lawmakers in Nichols stating that there was concern surrounding liability in the event that passersby on the main highway, Route 17 / 86, became distracted by it.
The Town of Nichols appoints the zoning board in Nichols, and there are no regular meetings scheduled. Middleton anticipates that another meeting will be held in the near future, however, to put the sign and the variance required to rest.
It seems like with all the money that Tioga Downs has given to the Town of Nichols, they would be ecstatic to have a sign to bring more people into the area.
I am disappointed in the action of the board to ‘table’ the vote. Mr. Gural applied for the right to install the sign and was not approved due to concerns on ‘how it fit’ into the landscape. Mr. Gural revised the sign and presented it again. Tioga Downs and Mr. Gural have brought a lot to the community in many ways. They have gone over and above board to be good members of the community– providing jobs, contributing to numerous charities and organizations through out Tioga County (and beyond). As far as the sign being ‘a distraction’ that is unrealistic. I hope that the board members discuss this and make the decision to allow this sign and appreciate what it will do for the community.
A sign is a very graphic characteristic of a community. Thank you to the Town and Zoning Board for carefully considering the impact on the rural countryside. This area is not 434 in Vestal where out of character development is rampant and history and aesthetics are bulldozed for the ‘fashion of the week’ retailer. If the casino is to truly integrate itself into the community and be a long term partner with a positive long term impact, a well thought out solution amenable by all parties is paramount.