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CURRENT ISSUES
SUNOCO . . .NOT COMMUNITY MINDEDSeptember 30, 2005 TOWN WINS $10,000 IN SIGN CASE KINDERHOOK --The Town of Kinderhook has collected $10,000 for a violation of its sign ordinance by the (Cobble Pond Farms) Sunoco filling station on Route 9. “We started an action in Supreme Court to restrain the sign, and at the same time we started a violation action in Town Justice Court,” said Town Attorney Edward McConville. “The (town) judge found the corporate defendant guilty and imposed a $10,000 fine.” The fine was converted to a civil judgment, according to Mr. McConville, which was then turned over to Columbia County Sheriff. “The sheriff attached a bank account of the defendant, seized the money, paid it to us,” he said. The outcome of the civil action does not effect a case still before state Supreme Court that seeks an injunction requiring the owner to remove the sign. “A judgment in one action does not mean another court is bound by it,” said McConville. The Town Supervisor Doug McGivney said the currently displayed at the Sunoco filling station, while smaller than the one that caused the original court action, is still not in compliance. “It will be on the (Town Board) agenda next month,” said Mr. McGivney. – Richard Roth, The Independent March 4, 2004 - LATEST UPDATE - Still in litigation The Town of KINDERHOOK has sued SUNOCO to remove or replace their sign. It is over-sized and in not in compliance with the code. KNGG Supports Town Supervisor McGivney on this issue. From The Independent, August 22, 2003 SUNOCO GAS STATION FINED $10,000 for NON-COMPLIANCE of TOWN CODE "Kinderhook Town Judge, Edward Williams, has levied a fine of $10,000 against GRGH Inc. for an illegal sign at the Sunoco filling station on (east side) Route 9 in Kinderhook (North of Valatie). "Both Sunoco and the absentee landlord are in total violation of our law," said Town Supervisor Douglas McGivney. "It’s four times bigger than what our law permits, and right across the road is the Mobil station which is in compliance." Supervisor McGivney is urging residents to continue to boycott the station until such time as the sign is taken down and the fine is paid.McGivney said he had contacted Sunoco offices both in Philadelphia and Syracuse and that the company’s attitude was not one of willing compliance. "Sunoco makes the signs in three different sizes," McGivney said, "and this is the largest. Instead of trying to work with the Town they’ve just stiffed us at every corner of the road." From The Register-Star August 23, 2003 OUR VIEW (a Register-Star Editorial, Hudson NY)SUNOCO PROVES ITS OWN WORST ENEMY It’s hard to understand the dig-in-the-heels mentality of the Route 9 Kinderhook Sunoco Station owners regarding their oversized sign. The station flaunts a sign four times the allowable size and has been warned many times about the noncompliance. The Kinderhook Town Board and Supervisor Doug McGivney were so peeved at the sign they called a boycott of the station. Now, station owners have been handed a $10,000 fine by Town Justice Archie Williams. This is a public relations fiasco and Sunoco has only itself to blame. The attorney for the Sunoco station owners, Kevin Hall, said it’s too early for the town to declare victory in the case. The statement indicates an incorrect mindset. This is not victory. We believe Mr. Hall would have better served his client by declaring defeat. The situation now presents two realities for Sunoco: There’s a too-big sign and there’s a lot of antagonism. A smart path of action for Sunoco executives would be to show up at the offending sign with a sledge hammers, wearing buttons that say: We made a boo-boo. Kinderhook is an upscale town with an impressive and cherished historic past. The town boasts (quietly) 18th and 19thcentury architecture and an internationally recognized literary mascot in the form of Washington Irving’s Ichabod Crane. The Columbia County Historical Society is headquartered there and by all accounts it’s located in the perfect spot among an appreciative demography. To keep Kinderhook’s ambiance in place, the Town has zoning that prevents big signs and chockablock development of the sort in evidence farther north on Route 9 in East Greenbush. Sunoco cannot pick and choose only the regulations it likes. Beyond legal issues, owners thumbing their noses at Town regulations makes no sense. Whatever value in advertising the sign possesses would seem to us to be offset by endangering so much animosity toward the blue and yellow company logo. We urge the Sunoco owners to acknowledge their mistake now by saying they should have acknowledged it months ago. Then, break out the sledgehammers.There is a good lesson here for Hannaford and Widewaters.
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