Tantramar council has okayed an increase to the number of veterans banners that will be displayed on Sackville and Dorchester streets this November. The banners feature photos of local veterans, and are purchased by family members through volunteer organizers Garth Zwicker and Mike Gillespie.
Each fall, the banners are mounted on light poles by municipal parks and recreation staff. After Remembrance Day passes, municipal public works staff take them down and replace them with winter light decorations.
The program started in 2016 with just 16 banners, but has since grown to include 229 banners in total: 173 in Sackville, 50 in Dorchester, and 6 in Fort Folly (where Amlamgog First Nations handles their own installation.)
As parks director Matt Pryde explained to council on Tuesday, the installation takes time and resources, and so staff have capped the number they agree to install several times over the years. But as more families request them, Zwicker keeps coming back to request more.
This December Zwicker presented to council and made a plea for yet another increase, and on Tuesday, Councillor Bruce Phinney came through with a motion to add 20 more to the total count.
Council unanimously approved the increase, but for the first time, Pryde gave them an idea of the kind of expenses they were approving.
Pryde said the municipality would need to purchase ten more banner arms for about $2,000, and pay staff about 25 hours in overtime for installation, which costs roughly $7800. He said one possible solution was to contract out the installation of the banners, which he estimated would cost about $5,500 for both Sackville and Dorchester.
Pryde also pointed out that the original 16 banners installed in 2016 were still in use today, even though the banners were originally only expected to last three to five years, and then be returned to their families for posterity.
“Fortunately, the banners have lasted much longer than that, with the original 16 banners still being installed,” said Pryde. But that has resulted in numbers growing to the point that “it’s just a challenge to have the resources to get those up,” he said.
Councillor Michael Tower told council he thought the program was “far more important than worrying about even $10,000 or $20,000 for doing this project every year. I think we have to show our recognition for the veterans, the history of this town. There’s so many families that are connected to the very roots of this town.”
Tower did however, suggest that policy might be in order, including a future cap on the number of banners.
Councillor Josh Goguen suggested budgeting for a contractor to take on the job, and Councillor Barry Hicks suggested a system of alternating years.
“Eventually we’re going to get to too many that we can’t handle,” said Hicks.
Mayor Andrew Black said that a banner policy could consider various options on how to manage the program in the long term.
“I’m sure there’ll come a time when we may need to cut back,” said Councillor Bruce Phinney, who made Tuesday’s motion, “but in the meantime, I think we need to push forward.”
Phinney told council, “I’m still like a kid when I go looking for my father’s banner. I just think it’s very important.”
