A new look is on the way for Katherine.
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Council approved a new corporate logo for the municipality during last night’s ordinary council meeting.
“The existing logo (crest) will continue to be used through council, being reserved for formal documentation including but not limited to ordinary meeting of council agenda and minutes, mayoral invitations and legal documents,” the council report stated.
The existing logo was developed in 1978 and has not been updated since.
“The crest’s imagery represents iconic themes to the region, notably Nitmiluk Gorge, the High and Low Level’s, a barramundi, a crocodile, the Stuart Highway and a compass which demonstrates Katherine’s position as the ‘Crossroads of the North,” the report said.
In March 2016, council decided the logo had to be modernised.
“The rationale behind this is to bring council’s image into line with council’s current vision, mission and values for Katherine,” the council report stated.
Mayor Fay Miller said although there would be new branding, the crest would remain on official documents.
“We had three choices, one of them was the original crest, but we decided on concept one,” Mayor Miller said.
“Darwin and Alice Springs have great branding, it stands out and looks great.
“Ours is old, I respect it is traditional we will always have the crest on invitations and things but we do need to modernise ourselves.
Mayor Miller said the new branding would be “uplifting for staff”.
“It is very modern, slightly abstract and all the original elements of the crest are in the new branding,” she said.
“Local government can be seen as very stayed, I think it is time for Katherine Town Council to look like we belong in the modern age.”
Council surveyed 83 residents and visitors to determine which logo was the best fit.
The results showed 86 per cent of people wanted a new logo.
To save money, the new logo will be phased in as existing branding supplies are depleted.
Although council voted for concept one last night, the branding will likely be tweaked.
“I would like to stress, as per the recommendation and determination at last night’s meeting, concept one will be further developed and refined as part of the rebrand process,” a council spokeswoman said.
“The image depicted is not the finalised version.”
What your aldermen thought
The Aldermen debated the decision for quite some time on Tuesday night, before reaching an agreement.
Mayor Fay Miller felt it was time to update and modernise council's image.
Alderman Toni Tapp-Coutts and the mayor both stressed that it was time to quite stalling and make a decision.
Meanwhile. Alderman Elisabeth Clark said she did not like the abstract style of the new logo and questioned if it could be further improved.
Alderman Clark and Deputy Mayor Peter Gazey voted against the decision, while Alderman Tapp-Coutts and Alderman Steven Rose supported the decision.
The decision to change the logo was voted in, 3-2, after the mayor made a casting vote.
Alderman Henry Higgins was absent at the meeting.