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Albany County officials say EMC digital sign variance will return to planning commission July 14
Summary
County staff updated the Board of Commissioners on a planned electronic message center (EMC) on the south side of the courthouse, saying a variance was tabled at planning commission and will be reheard July 14; staff warned ARPA funding tied to the project must be spent or returned.
Jake, a county staff member, told the Albany County Board of Commissioners the EMC digital sign proposed for the south side of the courthouse has been tabled at the Planning Commission and will be returned for rehearing on July 14. "It is gonna be back on the agenda for the July 14 planning commission, meeting to have that re heard," Jake said.
The project matters because the county has already obligated American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the sign and risks returning those funds if the project is not completed. Jake said the county’s ARPA obligation deadline already passed and that the completion deadline for the project is Dec. 31, 2026, meaning the variance is needed to keep the ARPA-funded work moving.
At the June meeting commissioners and staff described the principal hurdles: the courthouse parcel sits inside the downtown zoning district while adjacent locations across the street (a UPS store, ACE, and the jail) are outside that district and would not need a variance. That unique zoning for the courthouse parcel, plus public concern about sign scale and downtown aesthetics, prompted the Planning Commission postponement. Jake said contractor Schlosserstein has supplied two smaller-size alternatives for the Planning Commission to consider.
County officials outlined alternatives discussed in public review: (1) seek the variance for the courthouse site; (2) relocate the sign to another county property outside the downtown district (the library was discussed but staff said it lies in a residential zoning district that would require multiple variances); (3) place the sign on another site outside downtown such as near the jail or fairgrounds, each with tradeoffs for permitting or parking. Jake told commissioners the library location would trigger additional permit requests — for sign size, illumination and off-site advertising — because signs there would need to be tied to activities at that site.
Commissioners also raised public concern that the EMC might set a precedent for more commercial-style signage downtown; staff responded that the county and the city code shape what is allowed and that concerns raised at planning merit reconsideration. Jake said the contractor and staff will present alternate sizes to the Planning Commission and that staff will pursue other placement options only if the rehearing does not resolve the variance.
No formal action on the sign was taken by the Board; the matter remains pending before the Planning Commission with a rehearing scheduled for July 14.
