The two stone felines are the subject of town-wide banners that will stay up for at least two years, welcoming visitors to Los Gatos.

Banners will go up on Los Gatos Boulevard, Lark Avenue and the downtown area, which includes Blossom Hill Road, Highway 9 and Main Street.

The Los Gatos Town Council looked at designs for the banners at a Nov. 4 study session, where local artist Rick Tharp explained the concept and the history of the project.

According to Tharp, a working group—made up of representatives from various Los Gatos committees—had decided to focus on using the cats to portray the historicity of the town, and stick with muted and natural colors.

"It seems to me that the banners should be an outgrowth of the architecture and the spirit of the town, and not some merchandising, thematic thing," Tharp said.

Tharp also presented a design with text that council members said was too busy and was hard to read while driving by.

Marty Woodworth, the town's redevelopment manager, said the banner sizes will be different in each area of town. Larger banners will be in the Los Gatos Boulevard area and say "The Boulevard," while the smaller banners will be downtown and will identify the area as such.

Woodworth said the banner program working group approved the design last month, after the town council had put the group together earlier this year.

Tharp and his associate, Jill Prestigiacomo, had worked with the group to create a design that would represent Los Gatos.

Woodworth said the preliminary budget for the program is $70,000, which would pay for two seasonal banner designs, hardware and installation. Actual design work, however, was donated by Tharp and his firm.

Council members approved the proposed renderings, with kudos to the working group and to Tharp.

"We are a unique community, and we have very creative individuals who are not only talented but also willing to give their time, efforts and heart to the community," Pirzynski said.

According to Woodworth, ordering the materials and hardware will take at least 45 days. He expects the banners to be up by the beginning of next year.