When is a sign an election sign?

By James Kent

Last week, The Mountain Times ran a story about a Trump/Vance banner affixed to an abandoned poll sign on a vacant lot next to Godnick’s Grand Furniture. Readers wanted to know if this sign, a replacement to a similar Trump/Vance sign that appeared prior to the Nov. 7 election and was added close to election day, was in violation of Rutland City’s sign ordinance. The Mountain Times contacted City Building Inspector Mark Sadakierski, and connected with him Friday, Jan. 17.

Sadakierski indicated that the banner in question did not, in his view, violate the Rutland City sign ordinance because it did not feature the words “Elect” or “Nominate.” Therefore, it wasn’t what he considered an election sign. While it seems unlikely anyone could mistake the intention of the sign for anything other than an election sign, Sadakierski disagreed. However, he said he’d have to check with the city’s lawyer to make a final judgment.

One area where the sign was in undisputed violation of the ordinance was that the property’s owner, Leonard Knappmiller, did not file for a sign permit, something required by Rutland City. Sadakierski said he had reached out to Knappmiller to inform him that he must fill out a permit request. As of Friday, Knappmiller had not responded to Sadakierski’s request. Sadakierski declined The Mountain Times inquiry for Knappmiller’s contact information.

No stranger to controversy

In 2019, Leonard Knappmiller was fined $6,000 and asked to fix an issue stemming from 2016, when he was found to have filled in more than 10,000 square feet of wetland and wetland buffer on his property. Knappmiller, owner of Poultney Properties LLC, was accused of harassing a Poultney resident who was in opposition to the property owner’s planned Dollar General development. Poultney’s Development Review Board denied Knappmiller’s permit in that case. While Poultney Properties LLC is a property company listed in Poultney, the company has no online presence with any available contact information. It is unclear if the property in Rutland City with Trump/Vance sign is registered privately under Knappmiller, a Rutland City resident, or with Poultney Properties LLC.

The other side of the sign

The pole sign where the Trump/Vance sign is affixed on one side bears a second sign on the other side. This smaller, square sign reads “Trump/Vance 2024.” 

Surrounding the sign, on the ground, are several official election signs for Rutland City Mayoral candidate Henry Heck. More than one month before Town Meeting Day, our mathematics placed these signs outside the three-week window of the election and likely in violation of the sign city ordinance as readers have suggested. The Mountain Times did not discuss this second sign or Henry Heck candidate signs with Sadakierski, although we did ask what would happen if Knappmiller did not respond to the request for a sign permit application. 

Sadakierski said that Knappmiller could start accruing fines if he did not submit a sign permit request, but his small staff’s focus was on other pressing matters — indicators that this sign issue would not be addressed soon.

In the meantime, the large banner that Sadakierski insists is not an election sign continues to greet visitors entering Rutland, who might be wondering, what the Trump/Vance sign is promoting, if not election related or associated with any business.