Council approves limited signage for Dermer Dreams fall food drive

Fairhaven Borough Council approved a limited signage schedule for Dermer Dreams' fall food drive after councilors negotiated a compromise on the length and placement of banners and lawn signs.

Elise Dermer, vice president of Dermer Dreams, told the council the volunteer-run nonprofit uses high-school students to collect food for local partners and that "last year in October, we raised over 200,000 pounds of food." Dermer asked for multiple weeks of banner and lawn-sign display to recruit volunteers across several municipalities.

Council members said residents had raised concerns about the number of signs in town. After discussion, councilors agreed to a schedule of one week for banners in August and approximately 30 days for lawn signs from mid-September to mid-October, a total of five weeks of permitted display. Council moved to approve the sign request and the motion was seconded; during roll call Council members Cole, Griffith, Hutch, Malachi and Post were recorded as voting yes.

Staff said the approval and any limits (dates and number of signs) will be memorialized in an approval email to the applicant so the conditions are clear. Dermer said she would coordinate logistics and urged the council the signs help recruit students and remind residents to place yellow collection bags during the drive.

The council also agreed the borough will continue to control rentals of the community center and asked interested groups to submit requests to staff for scheduling. There was no further action on the item; the clerk will record the approval in the meeting minutes.