‘No on T’ sign removal stopped

The battle over a proposed senior center in Central Park got a little more bitter this week when a Measure T opponent witnessed retired police volunteers illegally removing “No on T” signs at a traffic intersection.

Resident Stephanie Olin was told by the retired senior volunteer officers, who are part of a program with the Huntington Beach Police Department, that the signs were illegal because they were hand-painted.

“It didn’t seem right to me they were taking those signs down,” Olin said. “It was kind of shocking to me. Why take down this sign and not the other signs that were up?”

Olin called the police department and was informed that it was illegal for the volunteers to remove the “No on T” handmade signs.

“No on T” signs at that corner, where Varsity and Edwards streets meet, have been stolen four times, said Mindy White, who heads up the Save Central Park group that is fighting the ballot measure.

“This had been building up,” White said. “From the first month, we lost about half of our 200 signs,” she said. “It’s not like kids came in and scooped up 20 signs.”

Lt. Mike Reynolds, administrator of the retired senior volunteer program, confirmed the incident.

“They [the officers] didn’t realize the significance of the sign,” he said.

The debate over the proposed senior center in Central Park has sparked heated rhetoric and growing outrage among residents over the last six months.

The volunteer program is made up of people older than 55 who want to give back to the community after their retirement, according to the police department’s website.

Both officers have been suspended until the police department completes its investigation, Reynolds said.

“Rsvps [retired police volunteers] are not to remove signs during election time,” he added.

Police Chief Ken Small issued a personal apology and hand-delivered the letter to White’s home on Monday. He also sent an officer to deliver personally the two signs removed by the volunteers.

“The HBPD has no position at all on this measure,” White said Small told her.

Mayor Dave Sullivan, a proponent of Measure T, agreed that the incident was “unfortunate.”

“I understand the chief’s concern, as they are under his command,” he said. “It’s only two people involved and apparently they have been disciplined by the chief.”

Ironically, the only ‘Yes on T’ sign he put up was stolen, Sullivan said. The sign, that was set up on Talbert Avenue between Edwards and Springdale streets, disappeared within a day.

Political signs are a sticky issue, Reynolds said. The retired senior police officers are asked to check for illegal signs from left-over garage sales over the weekend and illegal job signs.

So far, senior volunteers have removed more than 30,000 illegally posted signs and performed other duties, contributing more than $750,000 in time and skills last year, according to the police department’s website.

But during campaign season, officers are briefed about not touching any political signs except if they are improperly posted on center medians of roads or over a traffic control sign, Reynolds explained.

The officers are told to move the errant signs to the side of the road or bring it back to store at the city yards, but not remove them.

-----------------------------------------------------

QUESTION:

How much attention do you pay to campaign signs? Call our Readers Hotline at (714) 966-4691 or send e-mail to [email protected]. Please spell your name and include your hometown and phone number for verification purposes.