LED Task Force Announced

After sending some e-mails early this morning to a number Metro Council members about the status and make-up of the proposed LED task force, neighborhood leader Bell Newton was able to scare up a press release a little after noon that the mainstream media has published, too.

Here is the text of the release that Bell graciously forwarded to me:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 24, 2008
For more information contact:
Councilman At-Large Charlie Tygard, 243-3295

LED Task Force Committee Convenes Initial Meeting The Metro Council task force to study light emitting diode (LED) message boards for schools and churches will have its’ initial meeting on Monday, April 28, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. at the Metro Planning Commission Offices – Fulton Complex on Second Avenue South, in the Davidson Meeting Room on the second floor. The task force was recommended by the Metro Council as a result of pending legislation to amend the Metro Code provisions pertaining to digital and LED display signs. Metro’s current sign ordinance was approved in 1992 and has not been significantly modified since its adoption. The sign industry has evolved in recent years to include more and more electronic and digital technology, and Metro’s sign ordinance does not adequately address some of this technology. Task Force Committee Members include Councilmembers At-Large Charlie Tygard (bill sponsor) and Megan Barry; Jane Cleveland, Chair of the Metro Board of Zoning Appeals; Anna Shepherd, Donelson-Hermitage Neighborhood Association; Burkley Allen, West End-Hillsboro Neighborhood Association; Phil Ponder, Vice Chair of Metro Planning Commission; Ann Hammond, Metro Planning Department Staff; Sonny West, Metro Codes Department Zoning Administrator; Bobby Joslin, Joslin Signs; and Barry Smith, Pastor of the River of Life Church. The public and interested parties are invited to attend the meeting.

I do have an opinion about this news, but I wanted to post it as soon as I got home from work for the edification of readers. I don't know whether Bell was the primary catalyst for finally receiving news about the task force, but she obviously deserves at least some credit for her tenacity at staying on this point as well as my thanks for including me in her communication loop.