Hanging Banners Now Require a Fee

Hanging a banner in Weston's town center has long been a way for local groups to advertise their events for free and ensure that most residents of Weston will see the banner.

Now those groups will need to pay up for that privilege, to the tune of $50.

Fire Chief David Soar told the Board of Selectmen last night that the fee will ensure better reliability for the banners going up.

Right now, "we put them up when we can, if we're not short for the day," said Soar. Only a few people at the fire station are qualified to use the machine that installs the banners, and if none of those people are there, the banner can't go up.

The fee would cover overtime for those qualified, and would also allow for a regular schedule of putting a banner up and taking the old one down on a Saturday or Sunday, said Soar. 

It would also streamline the process, as groups would now request banner hangings from the fire department itself, not from Town Hall. And Soar said he would make sure that people knew that banner hanging is not a 100 percent guarantee—if there is too much wind, the banner can't go up, for example. 

"I'm not saying it's going to be flawless, but hopefully we'll take care of it the best that we can," said Soar.

Selectmen chairman Doug Gillespie said he hated to charge a fee, but that it seemed necessary in order to cover the costs of overtime.

The board voted unanimously to approve the measure.