Council approves veteran banner project for Legion

Good news for veterans in our city. At City Council on Tuesday, a vote was carried unanimously to approve the Royal Canadian Legion Branch in Lethbridge to install banners on street lights in our city come November. A sizable chunk of change will be used to fund the project.

The study will be funded from the Transportation Department’s annual operating budget. Council approved $20,500 from its Council Contingencies fund, and $219,500 would remain in that fund. Any amounts left at the end of 2022 will be returned to the Municipal Revenue Stabilization Reserve.

City Council also directed Administration to develop an Operating Budget initiative for the “Salute our Veterans” project for the 2023-2026 Operating Budget deliberations in November.

“$20,500 for this year will come from the Council Contingencies fund and we look forward to a budget initiative in the fall. I wholeheartedly endorse the project,” says Lethbridge Councillor Mark Campbell.

Mayor Blaine Hyggen was also in support of the decision, “This has been looked into and we had the opportunity of taking our previous city manager, a veteran, back to further discuss this. I can’t thank you gentlemen enough for bringing this forward in your group. It’s a fantastic thing to have in our community. Thank you very much for that. I definitely will support this.”

Below are a list of areas in the city where the banners will be installed:

• 1st Ave South (near the old train station): banners on 30 light poles
• Lethbridge Airport: banners on 18 light poles
• 4th Avenue South (in front of City Hall): banners on 14 light poles, including 12 poles with two banners on them
• Area around the Legion: banners on 12 light poles, plus Legion flag pole
• 5th Avenue South (near Army, Navy, Air Force Club): banners on four light poles