Examples of the banners Banners will soon wave from city light poles in honor of Simi Valley men and women who’ve served their country in the armed forces.

On Monday, the City Council approved the creation of an Armed Forces Banner Program that would thank local troops by name.

Installed on streetlight poles around town, the personalized signs will display the name and branch of service of each of the soldiers— including active duty and wounded military personnel, recent veterans and those killed in action.

“It’s a great program. I’m happy to see we’ve figured out a way to move forward with it . . . that makes sense and is a responsible use of our public funds,” Councilmember Michelle Foster said.

The idea was spearheaded with the help of residents personally vested in the cause: Paula Cornell, co-founder of For The Troops; Patti Fonvergne, founder of the Military Families of Ventura County support group; and Tony DiRaimondo, whose son Michael was the first Simi resident killed while fighting the war on terror.

The trio spoke to the council in July when the banners were first put on the agenda for discussion, saying they would serve as a visible thank-you for the sacrifice of local military personnel, showing them they haven’t been forgotten.

As approved, the program requires that an honoree be a current or past Simi Valley resident. In addition, those eligible for recognition on a banner are active duty military personnel in any branch of the military, including active Reserve and National Guard; fallen service members in any U.S. conflict; wounded service members in any conflict since September 2001; or veterans that served in any branch of the armed forces since September 2001.

There are three banner designs: one for the fallen, one for the wounded and one for active duty and past military personnel (see images on right).

Banners honoring those on active duty will remain in place until those troops have left the military, while banners honoring the fallen would stay up until the family requests removal.

Banners honoring an injured service member or veteran will be displayed for six months.

When a banner is taken down, it will be presented to the service member or his or her family at a council meeting or a community event such as the Veterans Day ceremony.

Each banner is estimated to cost $100 and the city expects it will hang about 100 of them the first year. The city anticipates that families of service members as well as military support organizations, service clubs and other nonprofits will donate the money to pay for each banner.

The cost to the city to initiate the program is estimated to be $15,000, which will be funded through the Community Development Agency. This covers the cost of the mounting hardware and installation.

The location of the banners has not yet been finalized. Initially, the plan was to install them at and around Los Angeles Avenue and First Street. However, the Chamber of Commerce uses this location from April to May to place banners for its annual Street Fair.

City staff will continue to work on finding available light poles from which to hang the banners as well as a single location to place banners for the fallen.

In addition, the city is working with the Chamber to see if the Simi Valley Community Foundation can accept and administer community donations for the program.

Banner applications should be available in about four to six weeks, city staff said.