COPPERAS COVE — Looking to spread holiday cheer and also act as an advertising tool for businesses and organizations, a holiday banner sponsorship program in Copperas Cove appears to be off and running after approval from the City Council Tuesday.
The city has taken heat from residents of late over the lack of holiday decorations along Business Highway 190. It has been nearly a decade since the city decorated for the Christmas season.
Requiring a monetary commitment from businesses or organizations wanting to participate — and subsequently advertise — the holiday banner sponsorship would be the start of larger aspirations. Banners would go up in November and be removed in January each year.
“All the costs for the sponsorship goes back into the program so that we can buy more banners (and) more lights and have it where we’re actually having lights and decor throughout the city,” said Roxanne Flores, executive director of Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful, which would run the program.
The cost of the sponsorship proved to be a point of concern for some, such as Councilwoman Joann Courtland, who viewed the price as a bit steep for the amount of time the banners would be up.
“If you’re going to want a business to spend $700, they’re going to want something a little bit more than a month and a half,” Courtland said.
Based on estimates provided to the council Tuesday, commitment for one season of sponsorship could cost around $760. The estimate includes the cost for city labor needed for installation and removal — including traffic control from the police department — as well as the purchase of the banner, the sponsor flag and the bracket to place the banners on.
As council members threw out idea after idea during the nearly 40-minute discussion — ranging from whether to go all-in for banners of all holidays or requiring a report from KCCB prior to implementation — City Manager Ryan Haverlah interjected on Flores’ behalf on multiple occasions.
“I totally understand that you have the city’s interests at heart,” Haverlah said on one occasion. “Your responsibility and the focus should be ‘Do we do this’ and then put all the responsibility on me on whether it’s successful. I want it to be successful because I know you want it to be successful (and) because the people I’m working with want it to be successful.”
In the end, the council unanimously voted in favor of the program’s implementation but may require subsequent updates from KCCB at future meetings regarding the status of interest in business sponsorships.
Initially, 38 banners are available for sponsorship after Texas Department of Transportation officials identified utility poles suitable for banner installation along Business Highway 190. Depending on the interest/success of the program, it could expand to other roadways in the future.
(3) comments
Well thank you firstly to the businesses forking up the good cheer to pay for this, and secondly to city council for voting it in. Rarely do we see action for traditions anymore. Now, if we just teach the knuckledraggers what the median does to prevent the absurdly entitled from causing accidents. Oh wait...it is them. My bad.
As for the Christmas decor is fine but what idiot rammed through this island in the middle of the road was a idiot. Traffic backing up at turn lanes and more idiots making u tur ns into oncoming traffic is insane. Guess the bums can use it to beg money from. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
You want businesses to fund your idiotic program while at the same time you build an island down the middle of the road so the people footing the bill can't be accessed. What's next? How about giving out free bouquets of poison ivy!
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