AGENDA #4d

MEMORANDUM

TO:	Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
FROM:	George Small, P.E., Engineering Director Lance Norris, Public Works Director Kumar Neppalli, E.I.T., Engineering Services Manager
SUBJECT:	Response to a Petition from the Downtown Partnership Requesting a Policy for Approval and Installation of Banners in the Downtown Area
DATE:	April 14, 2008

PURPOSE

This report is provided in response to a petition from the Downtown Partnership requesting that the Town develop a policy for approval and installation of banners in the downtown area.

We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution that would:

• Establish “Administrative Procedures and Policy” for approval and installation of banners; and
• Authorize the Town Manager to purchase and install 60 decorative brackets at a total estimated cost of $8,000 to be funded by $3,500 from the Downtown Partnership and $4,500 from Town Streetscape funds.

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION

At its March 3, 2008, meeting, the Town Council received and referred a petition from the Downtown Partnership requesting that the Town adopt a policy for approval and installation of banners in downtown.   In their petition, the Downtown Partnership requested and offered the following:

• The Town Council adopt a policy that will allow the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership the ability to install banners to the existing decorative poles on Franklin Street between Henderson Street and Merritt Mill Road.
• The Town Council authorize the Downtown Partnership as the managing authority of banners in downtown. 
• The Town Council authorize the Town Engineering and Public Works Departments to assist in the installation of such banners as outlined in the banner policy developed by the Downtown Partnership.
• The Downtown Partnership requests that the Town Council authorize them to purchase a standard banner bracket.  If a decorative bracket is required, the Partnership requested that the Town share the cost of the decorative brackets.
• The Downtown Partnership will store all banners and brackets when not in use.

Please see the petition provided in Attachment 1 for more details of the requests.

Current Procedures for Installation of Banners:

The Town Code of Ordinances does not permit placement of commercial banners. Placing non-commercial banners on a utility pole is permitted only if reviewed and approved by the Town Manager.

Last year and this year, we received a request from the Downtown Partnership to install banners for non-commercial use.  The Town Manager reviewed and approved the installation of banners.  The banners and brackets were provided by the Downtown Partnership. The Town Traffic Division staff, with assistance from the Landscaping Division, installed the banners and brackets on the decorative street light poles on Franklin Street between Henderson Street and Merritt Mill Road at no cost to the Downtown Partnership.  The work related to installation of banners requires significant use of a Town traffic signal bucket truck with two traffic signal technicians and 8 hours time.  We have a limited number of traffic signal technicians and when they are installing banners our ability to provide signal system maintenance is reduced.

Proposed Procedures and Policy:

We have developed the attached “Administrative Procedures and Policy” based on the Town Ordinance requirements and draft policy provided by the Partnership.

Key elements of the recommended policy include the following:

• We think that the approval of banners should be a governmental function and should not be delegated to a private party; therefore, we recommended that the approval process remain with the Town.
• We recommend that the Partnership assume the lead role as coordinating agency between the Town and organizations requesting banner installations in the downtown area.
• The Town will be responsible for obtaining approval from Duke Energy and N.C Department of Transportation, if needed.
• The Partnership will provide a written request for approval to the Town Manager’s office at least 45 days before the proposed installation of banners.
• Only banners for non-commercial purposes will be permitted. The location of utility poles identified by the Town and the Downtown Partnership for displaying the US Flag on federal holidays may not be used for banners and flags at the same time.
• The agency requesting banners will provide funds to the Town for installation. The Town will use a private contractor to install the banners. The estimated cost for installation of banners using a private contractor is approximately $500 for each occurrence.

Please see Attachment 2 for the Town’s recommended Administrative Procedures and Policy.

Decorative Brackets:

The current brackets are not decorative and the banding used was not designed for wind loads.  As a result, significant additional staff time was required during evenings and weekends to re-adjust the banner brackets.

We recommend that the Council authorize the Manager to purchase decorative brackets for installation of the banners in future.  The total estimated cost of each decorative bracket is $99 and we estimate that we need 60 brackets (two per each pole) at an estimated total cost of $6,000.  The installation cost of the brackets using an outside contractor is approximately $2,000. The Downtown Partnership agreed to provide $3,500 and we recommend that the Council authorize the Manager to use $4,500 from the Streetscape funds toward purchase and installation of these brackets.  If approved by the Council, the Town would hire a contractor to install the brackets on the decorative poles, and these brackets would be folded and remain on the poles when not in use.  Details of the recommended decorative brackets are provided in Attachment 3.

CONCLUSION

We believe that the recommended “Administrative Procedures and Policy” for approval and installation of banners would benefit the Town and outside agencies.  The policy recommends that the banner approval process would remain as a Town function.  The proposed policy also allows the Town staff to hire a private contractor to install the banners as necessary.

RECOMMENDATION

We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution that would:

• Establish “Administrative Procedures and Policy” for approval and installation of banners; and
• Authorize the Town Manager to purchase and install 60 decorative brackets at a total estimated cost of $8,000 to be funded by $3,500 from the Downtown Partnership and $4,500 from Town Streetscape funds.

ATTACHMENTS

1. Downtown Partnership Petition (p. 5).
2. Recommended Administrative Procedures and Policy for Banners (p. 13).
3. Information on Decorative Brackets (PDF) (p. 14).