LAGUNA HILLS : City OKs Purchase of Patriotic Banners

The City Council last week approved spending $9,200 to purchase 125 banners for patriotic holidays.

The 3-by-8-foot banners are made of sail canvas and bear both a vertical flag design and the city’s name across the bottom, said Parks and Recreation Director Dave Lewis. The banners will be hung along major thoroughfares, such as Moulton and Alicia parkways.

“They are very attractive, durable banners we can use for six or seven years,” Lewis said. Because the hardware that the banners hang from was installed during the holiday season, Lewis said, it would take only two or three days to put them up.

Mayor L. Allan Songstad Jr. opposed the purchase, saying that although it was not a great deal of money, such expenditures cannot be justified during difficult financial times.

Councilwoman Melody Carruth also voted against purchasing the banners.

“I think we have to put a lid on this sort of thing and save taxpayers’ money,” she said.

The banners, to be purchased from a Palmdale-based company, will be hung just before Memorial Day and remain through Flag Day and the Fourth of July, Lewis said.