Get with the Downtown Saline art scene! Learn about The 109 Cultural Exchange here.
For the past five years, we’ve proudly partnered with the Saline DPW to display banners honoring our local Veterans for both Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day. However, for the last two years, due to the overwhelming popularity of the program, we’ve been unable to accommodate new veterans as all available light pole brackets are occupied. When we initiated this program, we never anticipated such enthusiastic participation or the challenge of limited space. Additionally, we hadn’t foreseen a need to limit how many years a banner is hung.
Currently we have about 95 light poles that are outfitted with brackets to display banners. Although there are additional light poles downtown that could host brackets, the cost ($270 each) poses a financial obstacle. Neither the City of Saline nor Saline Main Street, an independent 501(c)3 organization, currently has funds available for this purpose. Nevertheless, the demand for new banners continues to grow.
After thorough consideration and research into practices in other communities, we’ve decided against implementing term limits and instead begin charging a $25 annual re-hanging fee. This fee serves two important purposes: firstly, it generates revenue to procure additional brackets in the near future, and secondly, it allows families of veterans who originally purchased the banners to opt out of re-hanging if they no longer wish to display them, particularly if they’ve relocated from our community.
We understand that the re-hanging fee may present a financial challenge for some families or veterans. In such cases, we encourage them to reach out to Saline Main Street or our dedicated volunteer, Gretchen Waters, to explore alternative options.
If you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out directly to Mary Dettling, Executive Director of Saline Main Street at director@salinemainstreet.org.
To see what other communities are doing, please check these links out:
http://cms4files.revize.com/westbranch/Veteran%27s%20Banner%20Program%202023%20packet.pdf