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Date: 8/1/2023
HADLEY — A proposal for the installation of banners honoring local members of the military was advanced with the approval of the formation of a committee to oversee the project mission and eventual plan implementation.
At the July 19 Select Board meeting, members heard from community member Pam Hague and Steve Connor, director of the Central Hampshire Veterans Services.
“There’s a ton of veterans in Hadley,” Connor said.
The banners, to be posted on telephone poles, would be 24 inches by 48 inches in size and would bear images and military information based upon the sponsoring veterans’ families or supporters’ requests.
The expected costs would be between $150 and $160 for the banners which would be posted between Memorial Day and Veterans Day annually. Hague said Gold Star families and families of newly enlisted military members could see those costs waived.
The program is already in effect in Easthampton, Westfield and Belchertown with West Springfield currently working on a similar plan.
Much of the board discussion concerned where the banners could be placed, what permission would be required and who would be overseeing the criteria for the creation of the banners.
Board member Randall Izer asked for clarification on what would be expected of the town as there would be expenses involved.
“What we would be asking the town to do is to hang them [the banners] up, put the brackets on the poles, put them up in the beginning of May and after the first week of November, take them down and do that each year as we go through the banners,” Connor answered.
Connor told the board he would like to be able to do some pricing for the projects beforehand and offered thoughts on the potential size of any committee overseeing the project.
“I’d really like to have at least a five-member committee deciding because you’re always going to have somebody saying, ‘Well, why didn’t my dad go up?’ so we need to come up with a criteria about who goes up first,” he said.
Hague told the board that a minimum order for the banners would be 30 but she was hoping to place 75 banners in town. Both Connor and Hague agreed that finding additional sponsorship outside of the families would not be difficult.
The board voted to approve the formation of a project committee with information for prospective members posted to the Hadley Community Page on Facebook.