DUMFRIES — Dumfries has a new look.
On Nov. 20 the town council held its first meeting in the new building in which they finalized the design of a new town logo.
During the council retreat earlier this year, and in other council meetings, the council discussed and decided there needed to be a new logo, according to Mayor Derrick Wood.
The change in town logo comes after town purchased and moved into a town hall building is located at 17739 Main Street, adjacent to the old town hall. There was never any official resolution that adopted the old logo as the official logo of Dumfries, and with a new town hall came the need for a new logo.
“The old logo wasn’t a good quality logo,” said Wood. “We needed something we could digitize and use as a brand identity.”
At a previous meeting, the council finalized three options for the new logo: one with a boat, one with a tree and a boat, and one with a dock and a boat. In the 18th century, Dumfries’ seaport rivaled that of New York City until the harbor silted in.
“Well I don’t like the dock or the tree,” said council member Melva Willis. “I think this one [the boat] is clean. You know its a seaport. It was in colonial times.”
After some discussion, the council voted for the logo with only the boat.
The new logo will appear on flags, the town letterhead, and the dais in the town hall; however, due to fiscal constraints, it may be a while until the new logo appears in Dumfries.
But there are questions as to where the logo came from. It’s unclear who designed it, how much the town paid the designer, and if the town put the job out for bid.
We also don’t know what committee, if any, narrowed the list of designs down to three.
Since the inception of the new logo, the issue has not once been placed on a Town Council agenda, notifying residents elected leaders would discuss the new logo, giving residents time to chime in on the new design.
Town Councilman Charles “Cliff” Brewer told Potomac Local the question could be taken up in closed session on Tuesday, the next scheduled meeting of the Town Council. Elected officials are barred from discussing with the public or press items brought up in closed meetings.
There is no indication the council will discuss the new logo publically at the meeting, according to the meeting agenda.
The town’s municipal budget doesn’t specifically allocate funds for purchasing new flags, so the council decided to wait to implement the new logo until the budget for it has been confirmed.
