MANLIUS — On Feb. 11, the Village of Manlius Board of Trustees discussed the upcoming launch of a Hometown Heroes banner program.
Through the initiative, veterans and active-duty military personnel with connections to the village will be publicly honored and recognized on banners paid for by their loved ones.
Each tribute banner will include a photo of the individual, their name, and information about their service. The exact banner design has yet to be finalized.
Trustee Hank Chapman, who presented the program at last month’s village board meeting, proposed displaying the banners from Veterans Day, observed annually on Nov. 11, through Pearl Harbor Day, observed annually on Dec. 7.
“The thought is to have the regular Village of Manlius banners in the spring and summer, these up [from] Veterans Day to Pearl Harbor Day, and then our Christmas decorations until the spring ones go up,” Chapman said. “Most communities do it year-round; obviously, doing it this way allows us to continue to have our other decorations. It also means they will last longer. The other benefit is that they [would not be] as noticed if they [were] up all the time; if they go up on Veterans Day, it will be a big splash and be noticed.”
After hearing the proposed plan, Trustee Janice Abdo-Rott asked whether there will be a limit on how long each banner will be displayed. She noted that at some point, the number of families interested in the program might exceed the number of locations available for hanging banners.
Chapman suggested that once a banner wears out and becomes tattered and torn, the village will contact its sponsor and ask if they would like to pay for a replacement.
“If not, then a new [spot] is open,” he said. “I think that’s best. It’s a problem we will probably have to address in the future; we will see how it goes.”
He also said Mayor Paul Whorrall mentioned that brackets could be installed down West Seneca Street to accommodate additional banners.
According to Chapman, the village will begin promoting the program around Memorial Day.
MagniFlood lights
The board also discussed retrofitting some of the village’s gooseneck streetlights with MagniFlood color-changing lights.
Whorrall said he and Department of Public Works (DPW) Assistant Superintendent Jeff Lewis first saw the lights at a public works training school this past year in Saratoga Springs.
DPW Superintendent Chris Sherwood showed the board one of the MagniFlood units and demonstrated how to change its color using a remote control.
The board brainstormed that the lights could be turned green and white for Fayetteville-Manlius High School graduation, pink for Valentine’s Day or breast cancer awareness, and green and red for Christmas.
Sherwood reported that the DPW already gutted one of the village light fixtures to prepare it to be retrofitted with the MagniFlood unit.
“Our plan was that once you saw all the pretty colors tonight, we’d put [this] up in that fixture and let it sit there for a little bit,” he said.
Retrofitting only one of the lights initially will allow the village to see how the unit operates and give the community a chance to decide if they like it.
The cost per unit is $650. The mayor and DPW proposed purchasing 10 units to start. The exact locations of the color-changing lights have yet to be determined.
“The good news is I have money in my budget for decorations,” said Sherwood.
The trustees agreed it would be wise to start with a limited number and see how it goes before investing in additional units.
“We think this will be a good thing for the village,” said Whorrall.
Village board meetings are held at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month in the Manlius Village Centre Board Room at 1 Arkie Albanese Ave., Manlius.
For more information on the Village of Manlius, visit manliusvillage.org.
