City of Portsmouth vs The Bales Family: Beware, Your Business Could Be Next
Portsmouth City Council is taking aim a privately owned benches featuring advertising. Council members have blamed the benches for panhandlers, trash, and homeless folks congregating and also criticized the upkeep of the benches and questioned their relevance as an advertising medium.
Now the family behind Courtesy Advertising, which has 42 benches within the Portsmouth City limits, is speaking out.
Is council trying to shift the blame for the city’s panhandling, trash, and homeless problem to a private company?
Bales Family Speaks Out Against Personal Attacks from City Officials- Full Interview
Fred Bales started placing the benches around town 44 years ago. His grandson, Tyler Bales, took over the business after he died last year. The company has continued to grow, but some members of Portsmouth City Council would prefer to see an end to bench advertising.
Tyler Bales, who runs the day-to-day operations of the business, says his grandfather was inspired to start the business while preaching at a revival in North Carolina 44 years ago. A man he met there was getting out of the advertising bench business and sold what product he had left to him for $87. Fred Bales brought the materials back to the area and started his advertising business.
Tyler says benches provide a quick and affordable advertising outlet for small local businesses. “He always told people advertising with him doesn’t cost; it pays.”
Tyler Bales says the feedback from advertisers has been amazing, and the benches have helped many new small businesses get their message out there.
Bales says he was surprised to learn that 5th Ward Councilman Joey Sandlin had spoken out against the benches at a Portsmouth City Council meeting, highlighting an issue where a panhandler had approached his son near their business and tried to mug him. He blamed an advertising bench near his business for attracting panhandlers.
Bales says his family requested a private meeting with the city manager and city solicitor after the council meeting. They thought they could efficiently draft a fair agreement that would work for everyone involved. While council members said they spoke to several businesses that wanted their benches removed, Bales questions why council members are getting between him and his customers. “They have my contact information. If they have an issue they want to address, I would address it with them easily.”
Bales said he followed up with the businesses council members who claimed wanted their benches removed and heard a very different story. “I spoke with one person who stated that they city that the city wanted them (the benches) to be removed. Another mentioned stated that they never even talked to anybody from the city. A lot of these business owners that I went and spoke to, do not have a problem with our benches.”
Bales says it’s just a matter of small businesses helping other small businesses. The family also feels that Councilman Sandlin wants every advertising bench in the city removed and will not let it go until he puts them out of business.
The family says some council members raised the issue of possible injury from the benches, so they went around and checked every bench to make sure there was nothing dangerous. They admit some benches need repair but say they are reluctant to spend the money if council is planning on making them remove all of their benches. “Why would anybody want to spend thousands of dollars if they’re just going to take them away.”
Tyler Bales says council is dragging the matter out and refusing to approve an agreement that works for all parties involved.
The family also denied claims that they did not hold the proper liability insurance for their benches. “During this last meeting they claimed all the private businesses would have liability. Both the city and the private businesses are protected.”
The company says they have contracts with the private property owners where benches are placed. They did not turn those contracts over to the city, since the contracts are confidential information between two businesses. “It’s not the city’s business. They have no right to those contracts.”
The company says it very much wants to come up with a workable contract with the city, but officials keep stalling. “We’re willing to do that. But we’re not getting any feedback.”
The company says they are willing to remove benches from public property but would like to come up with a deal to keep them there. “Maybe by offering free advertising for city events so that other businesses can still advertise there.”
Tyler Bales says he worked on some concepts of ways to promote the city. “But I guess that wasn’t something they were interested in.” He said the city manager, solicitor, engineer, and council clerk had been “outstanding” and tried to work with the company. “We appreciate that.” He said working out an agreement with other communities had been easy, so the issue in Portsmouth is puzzling.
The family says if council does decide to ban benches, they’re taking an affordable advertising outlet away from local small businesses. They also said council is taking money away from Fred Bales’ 83-year-old widow who depends on the income from the business to survive. “This is a personal issue brought to city council by Joey Sandlin.”
They pointed out they’d driven by the same location where Sandlin’s son was accosted by a panhandler, and even with their bench gone, there was still a panhandler sitting on an electrical box in that location. “Is he going to start campaigning to have electrical boxes removed in the city.”
Removing benches to move homeless people away from a particular area is sometimes called “hostile architecture.” Critics point out that it does nothing to stop issues like drug use or homelessness, it just forces people to move to other areas or sit or lie on the ground.
Previously, council members have expressed concern that the large number of rehab facilities in the area contributes to the panhandling and homeless problems, even going so far as passing a ban on new facilities.
To learn more about “Hostile architecture”, please press this link.