Group issues 'final' letter to city about its church signs

CITY OF OCONOMOWOC - In another letter, the Freedom From Religion Foundation warned the city it could pay substantial amounts of money if it chooses to keep religious signs on public property.

Ryan Jayne, the group's lawyer, wrote to Mayor David Nold on Aug. 8, saying it would be best for all parties to solve the issue out of court. 

"We are writing a final time to urge the city to take appropriate action to address these religious signs," Jayne wrote.

"If we do not hear back from the city by the end of August, FFRF will assume the city has decided to leave its signs as they are and remain exposed to legal liability."

The bright blue signs say "The churches of Oconomowoc welcome you" and have a metal cross on top. They have been in the city for more than 50 years.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Madison-based nonprofit group, first wrote Nold on May 12 seeking the removal of the signs, which are in Bender Park, 910 N. Lake Road, and in the 700 block of East Wisconsin Avenue. The group cites the Constitution, saying the signs violate the separation of church and state.

Nold said there are no immediate plans to remove the signs, and the city is waiting for the Freedom From Religion Foundation to make the next move.

Some Oconomowoc residents have asked the city to defend the signs in court if a lawsuit is filed. Nearly every recent common council meeting has had at least one person asking the city to spend whatever is necessary to keep the signs up. 

While Jayne did not explicitly say his organization would sue the city after the August deadline, he warned that FFRF has not shied away from legal action in the past.

In his latest letter to the city, Jayne said if the city loses a lawsuit, it could be on the hook for a substantial amount of money. He cited a 2014 case in which his organization sued a school board in California for praying at meetings. The board had to pay FFRF about $200,000 in attorney fees. 

Jayne also said FFRF won a lawsuit this summer in Pensacola, Florida, that resulted in the removal of a cross from a public park. 

"The city argued that the cross did not advance religion, but the judge explained that 'the law is the law,' and there is simply no secular justification for displaying a sectarian religious symbol as a permanent fixture ... on city-owned land," Jayne wrote. "The law on this issue is exceedingly clear."

The common council met in closed session Aug. 22 to discuss a course of action. However, Nold would not discuss what the city's next move might be.