Members of the Lake Central School Board said they are outraged and confused by the St. John Board of Zoning Appeals refusal to approve the variance request for a new sign to stand in front of the school.
The board is considering an appeal.
The school district requested the variance initially in April, because part of the sign includes an LED screen and the overall size of the sign exceeds the ordinance standard of 30 square feet. The ordinance states the sign should not be more than 10 feet high. The Lake Central sign is 12 feet high and 24 feet long.
“We believe we need a prominent design to match the scale of the building,” Superintendent Larry Veracco said. It would be more than a school sign, but also a sign that could post community messages.
The matter was deferred in April due to safety concerns and revisited at the July 27 meeting where the request was denied, Bill Ledyard, director of facilities, told the school board members. After meeting with an engineer and traffic consultant and removing a tree from the northbound visibility line, Ledyard thought the matter would be resolved.
“They (the BZA members) don’t like the design or the location,” Ledyard said. “It is well within the (Indiana Department of Transportation) INDOT regulations. There are LED signs and taller and larger signs up and down (U.S.) 41. It confused all of us. We are looking at an appeal process.”
The BZA board members were concerned the sign would cause visibility problems for teenage drivers going in and out of that entrance, Timothy Kuiper, attorney for St. John, said during a phone interview Tuesday.
“The way the process works, if the BZA denies it, that’s at the town level. With this request, the BZA asked several times for other (design) considerations. The school representatives replied the request was as it was stated. They did not want to change anything. They have every right to do that. It is done as far as I’m concerned.”
At the school board meeting Monday, board member Sandy Lessentine listened to Ledyard’s report and said she “was outraged” the BZA rejected the variance. Janice Malchow said “Our concerns should also go to the (St. John) Town Council.”
School board members agreed they want a sign that instills pride in the students of Lake Central.
They can go to the Town Council and express grievances, but the Town Council can’t change that, said Kuiper. The school corporation has 30 days to appeal the matter in court.
At the board meeting on Monday, Veracco told board members the BZA said the sign should be similar in size to the sign in front of Kolling Elementary School, 8801 Wicker Ave., St. John.
Kuiper said the BZA did approve the requested variance for the Kolling sign, but that sign was about 45 square feet, much smaller than the proposed sign for the high school.
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Nancy Coltun Webster is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.