GILROY
– Depending on the City Council’s wishes, the design of the
Gilroy city flag may be a lot simpler than initially thought.
A contest kicked off in February to land a flag design for the
city apparently hasn’t turned out any solid contenders.
GILROY – Depending on the City Council’s wishes, the design of the Gilroy city flag may be a lot simpler than initially thought.
A contest kicked off in February to land a flag design for the city apparently hasn’t turned out any solid contenders.
The city’s Youth Commission was slated to select five finalists and present them to the City Council, which would make the call on a prototype design that would be sent to a professional company for creation.
Flag designs were supposed to depict the city’s rich cultural heritage, be tasteful and creative and use all or part of the current City of Gilroy’s symbols. The new flag was to be potentially unveiled this summer during a ceremony at the 25th anniversary Garlic Festival.
But while the city received 15 applications, there were issues with size requirements and color schemes. According to a memo by city Recreation Superintendent Cheryl Bolin, 12 entries failed to meet all application requirements because they were not submitted in the proper size format and some were done only in pencil.
“They basically found that none of them really hit the mark,” City Administrator Jay Baksa told the Council.
The commission recommended extending the deadline, opening the contest to non-city residents and offering a clinic on flag design concepts.
But in the interests of time, several Councilmembers seemed receptive last week to Mayor Tom Springer’s recommendation that the city pursue a flag design depicting the city’s seal and logo on a white background.
“It’s kind of taking a lot of time, and we’re not getting very far,” Springer said.
However, Councilmembers also agreed the item should be sent back to the youth commission, which had shouldered the project at the suggestion of a Councilman.
The commission has decided to postpone and revisit the flag project in October, unless Councilmembers want to take it back and pursue it on their own accord, said commission Chairperson Ty Ashford.
The commission is already in the midst of several projects such as planning a skateboard competition and helping with the Memorial Day parade, Ashford said.
“We have a lot on our plate right now,” he said.
