During West Chester’s latest borough council work session, CGI Communications proposed new banners that could decorate downtown poles at no charge to the borough, writes Bill Rettew for the Daily Local News.

At least 25 full-color, vinyl banners would be financed by sponsors at $700 to $800 per year, according to Public Arts Commission Chair Jimmer Breen. The final number of banners would be determined by sponsor interest.

The banners would be 30 inches by 72 inches and only contain advertisements on a small portion of the canvas, while local artists would contribute their work for no fee. Sponsors would have to renew after each year.

CGI will control brackets, hardware, installation, and maintenance.

According to CGI’s pitch, the banners would “brighten and invigorate our downtown and drive traffic to our official government website, www.west-chester.com.”

There was a call for the PAC to invite artists to submit their work, but the action was tabled by the council as some wanted to explore the possibility of paying artists. However, Breen said there was no funding available for the artists and the project expectation was that the art would be donated as artists would benefit from the public exhibition.

Read more about the proposed banners in the Daily Local News.