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Draft 12.9.19 <br />6 <br />Robert Hall: Yes, ma’am. 1 <br />2 <br />Constance Lowe: Did you get any complaints from your neighbors about the flag or anybody nearby.3 <br />4 <br />Robert Hall: No, I haven’t. 5 <br />6 <br />Constance Lowe: What was the first indication that you got that that flag was a problem? 7 <br />8 <br />Robert Hall: Mainly in the news about creating an ordinance to see what they could do to make me take it down after I 9 <br />legally obtained a permit. When I went to get the permit, we discussed the height of the pole. The commissioner told 10 <br />me there were no restrictions. We talked about a sizable flag to which they said there was no restrictions and asked if 11 <br />once we got the permit if there anything that could be done to make us have to take the pole and flag down. They said 12 <br />that as long as we started within one year that there was nothing they could do to null the permit. Everything was done 13 <br />within the year. It was a lot of money to invest for them to try to tell me I have to take it back down. 14 <br />15 <br />Constance Lowe: How much money would you say you’ve spent on the flag itself? 16 <br />17 <br />Robert Hall: About $500 wholesale. 18 <br />19 <br />Constance Lowe: So in addition to the $9,000 referenced in Exhibit 3 and the $30, how much did you have to pay to 20 <br />appeal the Board’s decision?21 <br />22 <br />Robert Hall: $340 for the appeal to which they $1,000 for an advertising fee. 23 <br />24 <br />Constance Lowe: How much have you spent in legal fees doing the appeal and with my being here tonight? 25 <br />26 <br />Robert Hall: $2,400 for attorney’s fees 27 <br />28 <br />Constance Lowe: What would you like to see happen tonight? 29 <br />30 <br />Robert Hall: It should be grandfathered in because it was existing before they started any rules or ordinances against it 31 <br />and grandfathered in because it’s going against my First Amendment rights. They are going to take my freedom of 32 <br />expression away on my own private property after I did everything legally. I obtained by permits legally and questioned 33 <br />it when I got my permits. They said it was no problem then then changed their mind after the fact. If I can get a permit 34 <br />to build my house and they change the zoning ordinance, I do not have to make my house to compliance. It’s already 35 <br />grandfathered in, and this should be the same thing.36 <br />37 <br />Constance Lowe: What do you say to the people who are bothered by the flag? 38 <br />39 <br />Robert Hall: You can be bothered by the content of anything if you want to be bothered. You can be bothered by the 40 <br />United States flag if you want to be bothered, because people have used it to do things that should have been done. 41 <br />You cannot judge the content of the flag just on what your perception of it is. There is nobody alive now that was alive 42 <br />in the Civil War era, so they do not have any idea what it was less a study their history books to see what it actually 43 <br />says about it in history. 44 <br />45 <br />Constance Lowe: Do you have any questions? 46 <br />47 <br />Randy Herman: Any questions? 48 <br />49 <br />