Work has been progressing on the flag pole location at Mount Vernon City Hall.
City administrator Chris Nosbisch said that the new flagpoles will be at $7,000 in costs, as city staff have done the majority of the work on these flagpoles.
“Our expectation is this will mirror some of the design elements we have at Hilltop Pocket Park for the flower planters,” Nosbisch said.
Nosbisch said the west side of city hall was already having some issues, with two of the lighted pedestals no longer working.
Public works director Eldon Downs said as they were working on removing the crab tree in the area, they discovered that several of the brick pavers were deteriorating. The crab tree, because it was lower hanging, was a minor safety hazard, and a previous crab tree that had been there was removed.
“We found that the paver area was letting more water in than we would have liked and impacting portions of city hall,” Downs said. “We had been talking about needed improvements to this area before the flag poles project came about.”
Assistant city administrator Lori Boren has been researching the appropriate flags to honor certain groups to be flown. If there are recognition flags to be flown in the same month, multiple flags will fly on the pole.
Sanja Cooklin noted she was opposed to the flag policy as a naturalized citizen.
“The United States flag is the only flag that should be flown, because it’s the one that unites us all,” Cooklin said. “A lot of people are upset because they see this as wasteful and creating division in the community by groups not celebrated.”
She was also upset that benches and trees were removed to make room for the flagpole and planters.
Council member Paul Tuerler reiterated that the area was going to change because of failing stones and pavers.
Flag poles will be established October, first flags to fly at beginning of calendar year
September 28, 2023
About the Contributor
Nathan Countryman, Editor
Nathan Countryman is the Editor of the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun.