Jaylen Baron
•7/27/2026
Cape Coral’s 250-foot flagpole at Bernice Braden Park, installed less than a month ago, is undergoing repairs after the rings holding its 300-pound, 60-by-100-foot American flag broke over the weekend.
Photos sent in by residents show visible damage to the flagpole, which has been a source of debate among city council members and taxpayers since its installation.
Joyce Darling, a Cape Coral resident, said she is moving out of the city due to projects like the flagpole.
“Well, I feel like that Cape Coral already taxes us to death. And as for me, I'm done with it. Cape Coral wastes too much money. And where's it all going? We don't know. There's too much waste, and it needs to stop,” Darling said.
The city clarified that while the flagpole’s construction was fully privately funded, taxpayer dollars will cover routine operational and maintenance costs.
“When the City has stated there is ‘no cost to taxpayers’ for construction, this refers specifically to the capital cost of building the flagpole, which is fully privately funded. As with any City asset, there are routine operational and maintenance considerations that are incorporated into the City’s annual budget,” the city said.
The original contract with the flag company includes two replacement flags, according to the city, but after that, the city will need to purchase new flags. City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn told the council in March that each replacement flag is expected to cost around $14,000.
Navy veteran Gregory Crosbie, who has opposed the project from the beginning, shared his concerns about the recent incident.
“I thought it was very fortunate that it didn't come off all the way and landed on somebody's automobile. So that was a good thing. But it's just I think this is something that people talked about when they were putting the flagpole up,” Crosbie said.
The city is in contact with the manufacturer to repair or replace the damaged flag. Additionally, a separate flag has been ordered and is on its way.
