Letter from James R. Dean

Concerns About Heroes Banners

I read “The Freeman’s Journal” coverage of the Village of Cooperstown’s recent September 23 board meeting regarding a request to change the village sign laws to permit private commercial banners on utility poles, on public property, in the Village of Cooperstown.

It should be noted that this effort, to acquire the use of poles on public property for ongoing private commercial profit, is encouraged and supported nationwide, by the national outdoor display company Holiday Outdoor Decor, which recently had almost $6 million in sales.

If that public property is made available for private use, Holiday Outdoor Decor has an endless supply of products, including custom-printed banners for all causes and occasions, that can be sold for use on the utility poles.

If the sign law is changed, anyone can then apply to the village to put up any messaging they want, for any reason, forcing the local village board to have to deal with every application, in my view.

The Holiday Outdoor Decor banner program is a very serious nationwide sales effort that will guide local applicants through every step of the sales and application process to get sign laws changed, if needed, to get their banners, mounting hardware, and possibly their other products, on utility poles in the village, and in other communities around the country.

See their webpage HometownHeroesBanners.com for more information, in their own words.

Also see their webpage, holidayoutdoordecor.com/hometown-heroes-first-responders/, to see more on how they offer to help manage every aspect of creating local enthusiasm, applications, and the sales process for their banners.

From their website: “Our Hometown Heroes team is committed to your success and will coach you through every step of the process. From how to recruit volunteers and donors, to creating excitement in your community by using flyers and social media outlets, to providing ad layouts for your local newspaper.”

As a veteran of the United States Air Force Security Service, who volunteered twice for Vietnam, and served at a CIA station outside of Afghanistan for 15 months, I do not want a national, commercial, for-profit company trying to make money on my military service by trying to sell me a custom-printed banner with my picture on it and then trying to get the Village of Cooperstown to let me put it on a utility pole.

I am perfectly happy with the existing monuments, parades, and veteran organizations that honor all of our veterans, from all wars, all of the time.

As a village resident for almost 50 years, and a past village trustee for 10 years, I am against changing the village sign laws to allow commercial, for-profit banners on public property.

James R. Dean
Cooperstown