City to evaluate condition of Christmas decorations after the season

Once the Christmas season is over and the decorations come down, the city of Cairo will conduct an evaluation of the condition of its inventory of Christmas decorations.
The Cairo Messenger has editorialized on the poor condition of the city’s decorations and, on Monday night, Councilman Ernest Cloud Jr. joined the chorus and told his fellow councilmen that the snowflake decorations could more appropriately be referred to as “rust-flakes” because they are no longer a brilliant white and are so rusty.
“They really need painting bad. Ninety percent of them are rusted and all the white has come off. They need to be repainted to look decent,” Cloud said.
City Manager Chris Addleton said he had already decided that an evaluation of the condition of the decorations would be made when they come down after Christmas.
Addleton said options would include repainting or replacing the decorations with new ones.
Councilman James H. (Jimmy) Douglas, who chairs the council’s finance committee, suggested the city manager include money in the budget each year to build up a reserve for the routine replacement of Christmas decorations. “That way you’re not hit with a huge cost all in one year,” Douglas said.