Doomed Billboard Will Stay Put in Richmond Heights

The only billboard in —once —will remain in place after a 4-2 vote of City Council on Monday.

Discussion about removing the structure that stands outside of community center began in April at the suggestion of outgoing District 1 Councilman Paul Lore. At the time, .

On Monday, Lore again petitioned the council to reject the billboard, this time during the public comment portion of the meeting. He said he objects to the structure as a citizen of the city.

District 1 Councilman Matt Casey said he also opposes the billboard. He described the city's policy as hypocritical, and he said the council was reconsidering its initial decision because the city will get more money out of the arrangement.

Mayor James Beck responded that the billboard has been in place his whole life and that the city allows other people to put up signs, too. He said he has received several phone calls about the issue.

"I understand the other side of the argument," Beck said. But in the short term, he said, keeping the billboard in place will be advantageous for the city.

Beck, District 2 councilmen Rick Vilcek and Mike Jones, and District 4 Councilwoman Connie Williams voted to approve the billboard lease. Casey and District 3 Councilman Ed Notter voted against it.

District 1 Councilman Rob Jacknewitz, District 4 Councilwoman Camille Greenwald and District 3 Councilwoman Gina Mitten, who served as the lone voice supporting the billboard in the April vote, did not attend Monday's meeting.

CBS Outdoor agreed to reevaluate its lease with the city after the council initially voted to take the billboard down, City Manager Amy Hamilton said Monday.

The new contract is essentially the same as the old one, she said. Its terms remain confidential until the contract is officially executed. That should happen by the end of the month.

Under the old terms, CBS Outdoor negotiates with advertisers for use of the billboard. The city has been able to advertise The Heights in the past and may be able to advertise its 100th anniversary celebration next year on one of the structure's faces, Hamilton said.

The billboard company hasn't been able to sell ads on that face since January 2010 because of a sound wall built as part of the Highway 40 reconstruction project.

In the past, a land lease for the billboard has generated about $30,000 annually for the city.