AGENDA #4L

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

SUBJECT:       Ordinance Allocating Funds for Printing of Guide to Town Services and Updating of Town Seal

 

DATE:             March 7, 2005

 

 

Enactment of the following ordinance would allocate $6,000 from the Council’s contingency fund to pay for the printing of a Guide to Town Services as a tabloid insert to be distributed through the The Chapel Hill News in June of 2005 and a design update of the Town logo as discussed with the Council Committee on Communications. The Town seal update would coincide with the ordering of business cards, stationery and other communication materials as such materials are replenished.   

 

DISCUSSION

 

The Guide to Town Services will be a comprehensive, user-friendly and concise brochure that gives a quick overview of Town services, key contacts and other essential information. This information is particularly useful to newcomers and to citizens who live in areas being annexed. It also is helpful to longtime residents because it clarifies Town service information and provides an information resource throughout the year.

 

It is proposed that a Guide to Town Services be printed and distributed by The Chapel Hill News for a cost of $3,350. The piece would include information about Town services and offer an overview of the budget process. It would be inserted into 18,500 newspapers for distribution. A print overrun of 3,000 would provide additional copies for distribution throughout the year. Special audiences that could require this service guide are the Vineyard Square and Larkspur subdivisions that are being considered for possible annexation by the Town.

 

Another communication issue to be addressed is the Town logo, which apparently was created in the 1930s as a Town seal. Serving as a visual identifier for more than 70 years, the seal carries an important history of the Town. The logo depicts the goddess Athena, who is recognized as the protector of cities. More than any other of the Greek goddesses, Athena remains a symbol of civilization, useful knowledge, noble reasoning, logic and wisdom.

 

We propose to continue to use the present Town seal-logo for official and ceremonial purposes, but use a simpler, more modern update for all other business applications.

 

Messages gain power from consistency and repetition. It has become difficult to adapt the seal to a wide variety of communications with the public, from newspaper advertisements to street signs and web pages, because of its weak graphic representation. A weak and inconsistent visual identity fails to graphically connect services rendered to the Town. An improved visual identity, along with a well-defined system of use, is required. Development of the update requires a cost of about $2,400 for design services.

 

The Committee on Council Communications will review artwork and make a recommendation to the Council. A designer has been identified to work expeditiously on this project. The goal is to select an updated logo for immediate use on business cards and office supplies to be reprinted after the renaming of Airport Road in May. 

 

The Committee will review potential updates to the logo in March and make a recommendation to the Council on April 25.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

The Manager recommends that the Council adopt the attached budget ordinance to allocate $6,000 for the printing of the Guide to Town Services and updating the Town logo.

 

AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND “THE ORDINANCE CONCERNING APPROPRIATIONS AND THE RAISING OF REVENUE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2004” (2005-03-07/O-10)

 

BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Budget Ordinance entitled “An Ordinance Concerning Appropriations and the Raising of Revenue for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2004” as duly adopted on June 14, 2004 and the same is hereby amended as follows:

 

This the 7th day of March, 2005.