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Editorials

August 11, 2008

Grass Root Folks.  I need your help with a problem.  If 40 million people called to vote for an Idol, maybe 500 of you great folks could call the selectmen's office and tell them to work on something constructive...not destructive.

Well folks...every time I think it is safe to farm in the town of Charlton, without un warranted intrusion, we find ourselves face to face with a town official trying to tell me I need a permit for this or a permit for that... With their help, I am quickly reminded how WRONG I am, how I have no farming Rights, and how lucky I am to have such hard working people of power, in my town to protect and guide me.  After all, I'm just a dumb farmer in need of guidance.

Curtis Meskus, Charlton's illustrious Building Commissioner/Zoning Enforcement Officer, has advised us that our signage is violation of town ordinances.  Charlton Orchards has had signs throughout the town of Charlton for over 30 years.  Why... in 1972 - 1995, this farm had over 12 directional signs, pointing out, to the good people of Charlton how to find us.  In 1998, we negotiated with the town to put up 6 directional signs. (We wanted 7 but they only would let us put up 6)  We bought the orchards from Brookfield Orchards in 1997.  Their argument for 6 signs was that a change in management allowed for a change in signage.   Now today, we are informed that these "non compliance, non permitted" signs must be taken down. 

My dear customers...You are the people who complain that we need more signs.

How many of our hardworking towns people know that due to water damage, most all the towns records and files previous to 1999, have been destroyed?  The town officials told to prove we had permission for the signage...remember our signage permits date back into 1998.  I swapped back, prove I didn't have town permission...And this my friends is where the saga gets heavy..

I thought that some of you might like to have some material to read over a couple of days, while you are relaxing in the throne room, so I have included the 20 page dissertation that the building commissioner's office sent to our attorney.  I guess we are in building slump, otherwise where would Curt have found the time to create such a transparent, ill prepared, and conjecture filled document.  There is comedy, heartbreak, drama, and some conjecture (fiction), all good reading.

I would ask of you good people of Charlton and other communities, to please call the Selectmen's office 508-248-2206, and give them your opinion.  That office seems to think that everyone who works for the town of Charlton is always in the right.

Mr. Meskus, gives a number of points in this letter, my favorite is... removal of all farm property signs.  All of our farm property signs must be removed as there is no record of us ever having applied to have them.   Hey Mr. Attorney General, can he just ignore laws that he doesn't like... He has never read Chapter 40A, section 3 of the Massachusetts Laws.  If he had...  he would have realize that the town has no control over how I advertise my farm's products on my own property.  

Oh  Yeah... The one about our Route 20 sign, this one made me chuckle, remember I said this was full of comedy.  (it is properly permitted with the state of MA), stating our sign is too big.  He states in his letter that he doesn't have a copy of the permit, (Doesn't this all powerful town official know that we have a state outdoor sign commission)  but because this is Charlton, that sign can not exceed 32 square feet, in size.  Our sign is on state property, not my land, not the town of Charlton's land.  How many times have you seen a town regulate the state?  By the way my state permit if for a much larger sign area than the town maximum. So I guess if Curt is right, the state of MA owes me a lot of money.  I been paying for a much larger sign.

Lastly, he found a letter from the previous Zoning Enforcement Officer,  November 1999, telling us to remove signs.  He even states on Page 2, "this is clear indications that Charlton Orchards... is aware of the Sign Bylaw and should have applied for permit..." If he had read the letter closer, he would have read, "Located on trees and telephone poles."  These signs in question were temporary Christmas Tree and Apple signs for the 1999, Christmas Season.  For the record, we have never place a sign on a telephone pole or a tree (other than on our property) since that notice.  I applaud him for stating the obvious.

Any way... this sign issue is an important state wide farming issue.  The MA Dept of Agricultural Resources in working on code and verse to aid us as well as The MA Farm Bureau. We have hired an attorney, wasted a ridicules amount of time and we intend to see this to its conclusion. 

For those of you that do not know us, we are one of the last, if not the last, full time, non biogenic, farm left in Charlton.  This town will not be satisfied until, it has driven out every farm from it's borders.

Read the letter for yourself, call me if you have any questions...Call the Charlton Selectmen's office, 508-248-2206, tell them that you out there watching them or better yet call Curt Meskus's office 508-248-2069, and ask him your questions.  He is a real people person.