Commission schedules pole inspections and banner installs; county application pending

Jeff Kuderski, chair of the Franklin Tourism Commission, reviewed a proposed banner installation and bracket-replacement plan that would replace older brackets and place new promotional banners on selected city and county poles.

The matter is important because the banners are a visible component of the city’s visitor promotion and schedules affect permit timing, contractor ordering and a budget amendment to carry over unspent banner funds from the prior year.

Kuderski walked commissioners through packet maps that highlighted poles to be removed and candidate replacement sites; the maps in the packet identify changes on specific pages (noted in the meeting as pages 3 and 10). He said some older composite/metal brackets will be removed and replaced with wooden poles and bolt‑on brackets where feasible, and that the work requires We Energies to confirm whether specific poles are suitable.

Staff said the county application for banners along county roads is being prepared using the same pole locations approved previously, and that if county approval is granted and pole inspections confirm suitability, installers expect to place banners in mid‑ to late February. Commissioners agreed to order brackets and to amend the banner line item in next meeting’s budget packet to carry unspent funds forward for installation.

No substantive controversy arose; commissioners asked staff to confirm lead times for brackets and to verify whether installers will remove old brackets on poles that will no longer host banners.

The commission instructed staff to move forward with the county application and to present a budget amendment at the next meeting for approval so procurement can proceed.