Crime & Safety
Fire Company Eyes Sign of the Times
Southampton Fire Company No. 1 President Joe Reaney expressed his desire for a new, programmable LED sign for the firehouse to the township's board of supervisors Tuesday evening.
The Southampton Fire Co. is proud of its firefighting equipment.
Their bulletin board-style outdoor sign? Not so much.
“We have to do something with the sign,” President Joe Reaney said at Tuesday's Upper Southampton Township Board of Supervisors meeting. “We basically want to get into the 21st century.”
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He said the company wants to get a programmable LED sign that is no larger than the current sign, which is 68 by 45 inches. After the meeting, he said the sign could cost about $10,000 while stressing that no taxpayer money would be used.
“We don't see this as an advertising sign,” he said. “We see it as an information center.”
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When asked, Reaney said the sign might congratulate a couple celebrating their wedding in the Hampton Room, which is attached to the firehouse. But, more importantly, it would announce community events and be used to report road closures or amber alerts should a child go missing, he said.
“It would be very beneficial not only to us but to the entire community,” he said.
Reaney said the company wants to be able to program the sign remotely and said the message might be changed as often as every hour.
Township Manager Joe Golden said the planned sign might conform to local zoning.
But Township Solicitor Donald Williams recommended against Supervisor Walter Stevens' formal approval motion, saying the board should see exactly what the sign would look like. So, instead, the supervisors decided to offer their informal approval of the concept.
The next step in the process: the fire company will need to put together the specifications and file a permit application with the township.
