A debate over an electronic business sign in Jim Thorpe appears destined for litigation, Mayor Michael Sofranko told borough council on Thursday.

Since Shawn Kresge, owner of Shawn Kresge Electric & AC, installed the sign in the 900 block of North Street in the fall, neighbors have been upset over its brightness level, telling council members the lights flash inside their homes at night.

Though Kresge turned the bottom portion of the sign off and lowered the LED brightness by about 20%, it hasn’t solved the issue for neighbors.

“The situation right now is the neighbors want Shawn to turn the sign off at night and his position is that he didn’t pay for a sign that he can’t light,” Sofranko said. “Both parties did sit down together and Shawn did lower the brightness as he said he would do, but the flashing and certain particular colors are still an issue for neighbors. It really is at a strong impasse right now and I think we’re at the point where it’s beyond anything myself or council can do.”

Kresge legally obtained a permit for the sign and after it was erected and neighbor complaints were filed, the borough had the zoning officer revisit the issue to make sure the permit was not approved in error.

“The zoning officer determined that the sign does not violate the borough zoning ordinance,” Solicitor James Nanovic. “It is not council’s job to second guess the zoning ordinance. The neighbors can take legal action through private counsel, but the council is really out of this right now.”

Councilwoman Jessica Crowley questioned the zoning officer’s interpretation of the ordinance on signs, saying she reads things differently.

“We have a lot of vague laws,” Crowley said, “but this doesn’t seem to be one of them.”

Council on Thursday heard from Dorinda Getz, who lives across the street from where Kresge’s sign is located.

“He is refusing to turn it off at night and told us to get room darkening shades,” Getz said. “Why should we have ourselves barricaded in our home just so he can put his name up in lights? Add to that it’s a hazard on the street at night. All we want is for him to turn it off overnight.”

Getz said she filed a Right To Know for the permit issues to Kresge. It made no mention of illumination, she added, only that it would be a free-standing sign.

“We had no idea what we would be going in there based off that,” she said.

Though council’s hands are tied as far as anything they can “require,” Councilman Jay Miller said he would be in favor of encouraging Kresge to tone down the sign even more.

“I drove by it tonight on the way in and I wouldn’t want that across from my home,” Miller said. “The intensity should be brought down more. We can spend all night talking about legalities, but that’s the bottom line.”

Neighbors continue to ask for the sign to be turned off at night, something Councilman Robert Schaninger said he doesn’t think that would have an adverse impact on advertising efforts.

“I drive by there when I go to work between 3 and 5 a.m. and there is almost no traffic going up and down that road,” Schaninger said. “The very few vehicles that come by in the overnight hours would not warrant that sign being on.”