NATCHEZ — With March approaching, Spring Pilgrimage is drawing near and city officials said they are working toward securing a safe location for banners to be hung near their traditional location on Main Street.

The question of where to hang the banners presented itself last fall after Entergy officials reviewed safety policies and procedures and said banners should never have been hung from their utility poles as it posed a threat to public safety as well as possibly causing expensive damage to power lines.

“Perhaps because this has been such a long-going tradition, the policy was overlooked,” said Riccardo Giani, city planner and zoning director. “We have to abide by state law, and there are state laws that cite a 10-foot easement around utility wires, which protects the utility companies from any kind of tampering or infringement to wires.”

Since the problem presented itself, Giani said he spoke with local business owners who hoped to remedy the issue and may have secured at least one location for a banner between buildings on Main Street, he said.

Giani said the next step is to find a way to secure the banners to the buildings without damaging the brick and position the banners themselves where there is little wind resistance but still high enough above ground for vehicles to pass underneath.

“We’re trying to check all of our boxes, so we can ensure an almost perfect if not perfect banner system that won’t pose any hazards to the public,” he said. “Of course, that’s our number one goal.”