The Steele's have operated the tree farm in the northeast corner of town for years. At the beginning, they would place small, concealed, inconspicuous signs throughout Manchester to help promote business during the holiday season. But, within recent years, the Town has begun removing the signs; causing a significant decrease in business and forcing the Steele's to sell a significant portion of their land.
Last week Aurthur Steele appeared before the Directors asking for assistance. Director O'Neill responded and requested that General Manager Shanley set a meeting with Arthur and Lynn and other town staff to discuss what, if anything, could be done to help a "lifelong resident" and small business owner.
The solution:
Officials concluded the Steeles can apply for a state agriculture program that allows farmers to place temporary signs on state roads. The Steeles already had applied for the program in 2000, but their application was never accepted, and they say they could never get a full explanation of what happened to it.
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Shanley said the town was trying to help the Steeles get their application from 2000 processed.
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Lynn Steele said she is pleased that she and her husband can work with the town now to move past a 10-year-old misunderstanding."I don't know how it's going to turn out," she said. "What they're doing simply is trying to help us get what we should have gotten a long time ago as far as state signs are concerned."
This is just another example of the Democratic Directors providing the help, assistance and proactive leadership that the people of Manchester have come to appreciate and will undoutedly continue to need in the future.
