Mt. Pleasant asked to lift gazebo limit

Three members of the ministerium petitioned borough council to overturn an ordinance that restricts use of the Veterans Park gazebo to the borough itself, the local Elks, American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, and to couples looking to get hitched.

Borough officials Tuesday were not encouraging about changes to the ordinance.

Joseph Bauer, who chairs the panel with jurisdiction over the ordinance, said he could not "say off the top of my head" what changes might be made.

Bauer, who is commander of VFW Post 3368 in Mt. Pleasant, defended the ordinance, noting that it took months to write and was drafted with the Ku Klux Klan in mind. He suggested the impetus for excluding all but the five designated groups from Veterans Park was a demonstration staged by several Klansmen at Mt. Pleasant's World War I monument four or five years ago.

"I think the violence and the people it was going to draw were a big concern," Bauer said.

Borough Manager Jeff Landy said it may be months before council's Public Safety, Zoning and Ordinance Committee gets back to the pastors with a reply.

In the meantime, Landy lauded council for designating a "free speech zone" near the gazebo.

Council was far ahead of most other towns in that regard, he said.

The controversy stems from a request by the ministerium to hold a National Day of Prayer service at the gazebo in May. Council turned down the request, basing its decision on the 2006 ordinance. Borough officials urged the ministerium to utilize the free speech zone, instead.

The Rev. Tim Hoover of the United Methodist Church of Mt. Pleasant said the free speech zone was far from ideal.

"It's out near the street, a very small area," Hoover said.

The ministerium "ran into some problems," Hoover said, including access to electricity for the sound system. Traffic on Main Street (Route 31) also made hearing difficult and posed a hazard to children, he said.

The National Day of Prayer service attracted between 50 and 70 people, the pastor said.

"The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the right of the freedom of assembly," Hoover said, "and we, as the ministerium, ask only that those rights be extended to all people and groups of this community."

"We're taxpayers, too," he said.

Hoover said he doesn't think the ministerium is being discriminated against on the basis of religion. The pastors' group understands the borough's goal of "maintaining the integrity and beauty" of Veterans Park, he said.

He said he thought it would be possible for council to draft an ordinance that would establish "parameters" for use of the park, including the gazebo, by other groups.

Landy insisted the ordinance already includes "parameters" in that it provides for use of the park by the five groups.

Hoover said that he and the two other pastors -- Ardi Hill and Dave Greer -- who approached council at their meeting Monday were pleased with the reception they received and hope for a positive outcome.

Hoover said he will attend a council work session on July 21.

"I think they will take their time to make a decision," Landy said.

Bauer said there's little chance his committee would have an answer for the pastors in July. "When you let one group" use the gazebo, "you've got to let other groups do it," he said.

He defended the inclusion of the local VFW post because its members donated about $35,000 to the memorials that make up Veterans Park. He also pointed out that aging veterans were finding it hard to make it to cemeteries on Veterans Day and other special occasions.

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