2021-04-28

Logo note prompts debate at Mahone Bay council

Mahone Bay's new corporate logo has been around for about a year but remains an unresolved sore point for some who want to see the iconic three-churches look.

The issue was discussed at the April 13 town council meeting, where a back-and-forth about public engagement honesty preceded a narrow council vote to tell a resident there are no immediate plans to revisit the issue.

Council also agreed in the 4-3 vote to tell Mahone Bay resident Mickey Johnson she does not need government permission to conduct her own survey concerning the current emblem emblazoned with a tri-colour diamond-shaped scheme, and to thank her for her correspondence on the issue.

Mayor David Devenne and councillors Penny Carver, Richard Nowe and Joseph Feeney supported the motion. Deputy Mayor Francis Kangata and councillors Alice Burdick and Kelly Wilson voted to the contrary.

The motion was in response to correspondence from Johnson suggesting there is a new community-driven process pursuing a new logo and calling for a plebiscite.

"It is our hope that by using a public, inclusive process agreed to by council, goodwill and trust will be fostered," Johnson said in part in her note. "We agree with council in soliciting citizen support knowing future policies depend on responses and compliance from the public."

Kangata was unsure council is listening enough. He felt public process is outlined in policy but needs to be better applied. For the first-term council member, it came down to how the town responds to its citizens.

"I think if we truly are honest ... residents have shown us they're not happy with the logo. I'm not advocating for one logo or the other, what I'm advocating for is let's listen to them and, sort of, say 'let's revisit the logo and figure out, as a council, what kind of process do we need to go through so that we are satisfied that a majority of the residents we have in Mahone Bay are supportive of the logo we have chosen'," Kangata told his colleagues.

"For me, that's the simple way I can look at it, rather than kicking the ball back and kicking it further, which we've done a few times and it's not really helping us."

Meanwhile, Wilson suggested a motion, approved by a previous mandate of council, authorizing the three-diamond style logo in April 2020 lacked clarity. That motion agreed to "formally revisit its commitment to the use of the ... design as its corporate logo, with the understanding that the ... logo will continue to be used for corporate purposes in the meantime ..." after public consultation about a municipal planning review.

Mahone Bay committed to using "community signage" featuring the three churches look.

Burdick wondered if the issue needs revisiting because citizens keeps coming up.

"If they find the logo acceptable as it stands at this point would be great information for the town to have, just as it would be great information for the town to know a considerable number of people don't want it as it stands."

Johnson's correspondence alluded to a petition containing signatures of at least 67 residents. Councillor Carver and Devenne suggested that figure, in a town of close to 1,000 people, is not the best measure of support nor dispute.

Carver conceded the logo process was not perfect, but said council listened and heard from its people and she opined it is not a good idea to make decisions on the basis of feedback from a small percentage.

Devenne said council discussed the matter, it has been published in town records and the logo was approved, rescinded and green-lit a second time.

"The discussions that have gone on since then have shown some people that are quite open and vocal about being opposed to the new logo for a variety of reasons," the mayor said during the April 13 council meeting. "A number of people have expressed their own sentiment being in favour of the new logo. I don't think this is a question about being honest; I think council has followed the steps that were in place with regard to citizen engagement from the beginning."

"We changed the rules half way through; we embraced the policy of citizen engagement."

Although open to changes in the future, Feeney wanted to respond to Johnson's correspondence in the context of current facts.

"We're not dealing with re-litigating ... the logo issue," he said.

"This motion is clear and honest about where we are tonight [April 13], not trying to hypothesize where we'll be 10 years down the road or 10 months down the road."