Durant Beautification committee recommends city buy embroidered polos for volunteers; outreach items deferred

The Beautification Committee recommended that the city manager and city council approve the purchase of embroidered polo shirts for committee members, voting unanimously to free up $210 to cover seven polos at $30 each.

Committee members discussed several other outreach items during the meeting. A local vendor, identified in discussion as Mike Forbes, told committee members he would make and donate the planned yard‑of‑the‑month sign; committee members said Forbes had cut the sign and planned to powder‑coat the front green with a white backing so the design would show through. Plans for downtown recycling bins were not pursued after initial attempts to coordinate with a third party failed. A dumpster‑decorating contest was mentioned but committee members reported no recent updates and deferred further action.

Committee members debated how to identify volunteers and whether to maintain a committee label on apparel. They agreed to use wording aligned with the city identity and settled on “Keep Durant Beautiful” for shirts rather than wording that could read as an internal committee or association mark. Members also discussed whether shirts purchased with city funds should be returned when a member leaves; the committee affirmed that shirts paid for with city money would be expected to be returned on departure.

The group discussed creating a Facebook page or other community email contact to promote yard‑of‑the‑month nominations, the dumpster contest, agendas and event notices. Staff told members that setup is on hold pending hiring of a new information‑technology contractor or city IT staffer; the committee asked that the Facebook page and other outreach items remain on future agendas until the city can assign IT support.

On the apparel purchase, a committee member presented bids from four vendors and recommended embroidered polos as the preferred option. The committee approved a motion recommending the city free up $210 to purchase polos (seven shirts at $30 each). The motion was moved by Chairman Miller and seconded; during roll call the five members present recorded aye votes, and the recommendation passed.

Members also discussed logistics such as ordering by size versus keeping spare shirts in inventory; the committee favored ordering shirts as members join rather than holding a stock, and noted a local vendor offered the ability to make single shirts on request for volunteers or community members who wish to purchase their own. Shipping and tax details were not specified in the discussion.

The meeting closed with members agreeing to keep the remaining outreach items—yard‑of‑the‑month sign, dumpster contest and Facebook page—on the committee’s next agenda for updates.