HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.6. Community Event BannersAGENDA ITEM: Community event banners
AGENDA SECTION:
PREPARED BY: Alan Cox, Communications coordinator
AGENDA NO.: 2
ATTACHMENTS:
APPROVED BY: /A`�"
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RECOMMENDED ACTION: Discussion and guidance
4ROSEMOUNT
CITY COUNCIL
City Council Work Session: February 15, 2006
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A Council member has forwarded the interest of a nonprofit community group, the booster organization
for the Rosemount High School marching band, to pay for its own variation on the City's new hght pole
banners to welcome participants in a yearly competition. Informal discussions m the group have
apparently pointed toward banners that would include the City visual identity system on one side and a
greeting to competition attendees on the other. Staff has researched a similar arrangement in another city,
and has a summary of internal discussions about policy considerations.
CURRENT ROSEMOUNT BANNERS
The City purchased new banners for hght poles late last year. Most have been installed Downtown along
145t Street and South Robert Trail; a few are beside the retail development that includes Cub Foods.
Some poles along South Robert do not have banner arms; those arms are expected to be delivered this
week. When the work is complete, the City will have roughly 135 bannered poles. The new banners cost
the City approximately $45 each; the banner arms cost $190 per pole. Pubhc Works estimates that
switching out all banners including the poles with the new arms will require commitment of a three- person
crew for a full day.
There are two additional banners, slightly larger than the rest and displaying the old City logo, in place on
South Robert near the Community Center and near the middle school These banners will probably be
removed soon, and there are no plans to replace them. Otherwise, there are no banner arms installed
north of 143" Street.
USE OF BANNERS IN LUVERNE
The City of Luverne, Minn (2000 population: 4,617) hosts a popular band competition in the fall That
event is one of four celebrations that are marked with special banners, posted m about a dozen locations
on approaches to the community. The banners are taller and wider than the ones used in Rosemount.
They carry a promotional message for the event, and each banner includes at the bottom the name of a
different local business that provided financial support for the effort The local chamber of commerce
coordinates fundraising and creation of the banners and handles decisions about which events should be
promoted this way. The City of Luverne installs and removes the banners without charge as its
contribution to the effort. The banners go up two or three weeks before an event, and are replaced
afterward with generic banners for the city.
Banners in the central part of the community are not changed for events.
POLICY CONSIDERATIONS FOR ROSEMOUNT
Among the issues that could be considered in formation of a promotional bannering policy:
Should the City, hke Luverne, provide the installation, removal, and storage of banners without
charge to the organization?
How long would promotional banners be left in place? If the Rosemount event takes place in
October, the regular City banners would need to be reinstalled after the event and then taken down
again about a month later for seasonal decorations. To mtnnruze wear and tear on the regular
banners, should the holiday banners go up sooner, or is there too much of a loss in having the
regular banners unseen for three months m a row>
Would banners be put in place at specific locations, or on every available pole that has a City
banner today?
How should staff handle additional and possibly competing requests from organizations for similar
consideration?
Would other school booster groups want a similar arrangement around the same time in the
fall?
Should a distinction be drawn between public and non -public schools, or school related groups
and other types of organizauons>
Would it be acceptable to allow banners promoting a religious or political group's event, or a
for -profit activity?
Is there a limit to how much of the year the regular banners should be kept off display?
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