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Veterans, auxiliaries press council to restore ‘Faces of Freedom’ banners and resolve installation disputes
Summary
Several veterans and auxiliary leaders told the council the city administrator halted a volunteer banner program and asked council help obtaining bracket access, timely responses and clarification of who bears installation costs.
FREMONT, Neb. — Multiple veterans and auxiliary leaders used the public-comment period at the June 30 council meeting to urge the city to restore and expand the volunteer-run "Faces of Freedom" banner program and to press staff for clearer communication about bracket use, fees and timing.
Dan Yankee of the Fremont VFW Auxiliary said the mayor had been helpful but the group had been unable to get consistent cooperation from city staff or timely email responses. He said volunteers have 140 banners hung, have more than 75 requests on file, and that they were told a donor would cover additional brackets. Several other speakers including Carol Nes (representing veterans organizations), Andrew Smithson (local VFW post commander), Debbie Christensen (auxiliary volunteer coordinator) and Teresa McGrander asked the council to override a pause ordered by the city administrator or to instruct staff to work with volunteers to place banners quickly.
Speakers described strong community attendance at a May 2 Faces of Freedom presentation (reported attendance of about 400–450 people) and emphasized that the banners are a volunteer, nonprofit effort intended to honor veterans. Debbie Christensen said volunteers were told the city would charge $5,000 to put up 40 banners downtown and $7,000 for 100 banners on 23rd Street, and questioned what happened to any funds or why the city had not responded to repeated calls to staff.
Why it matters: The conversation highlights a recurring council/staff coordination issue that affects volunteer projects and public displays honoring veterans; it also raises transparency questions about quoted charges for installations and how the city communicates with volunteer organizations.
What’s next: Speakers asked the mayor and council to either direct the city administrator to resume cooperation or override the administrative pause so volunteers can expand the program and ensure already-purchased banners are displayed.
