2014-10-27 Reg - Laserfiche WebLink

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Dr. Carr stated staff wrote to the Arts and Letters Commission and asked them to provide comments, concerns and questions relative to the current logo. She asked that the code for the Arts & Letters Commission be distributed to Council and the emails from the Arts & Letters Commission be attached to the minutes. She stated that the Commission’s general consensus had been that they did not like the tagline Neighborhood to the World; that they objected to the color and objected to the use of someone else’s artwork. Dr. Carr noted that while the code states that this Commission shall act in an advisory capacity to City Council, the only individuals that had been privy to their comments was the Mayor and City Manager. She noted that the packet containing the Commission’s e-mail responses represented a meeting that was held in violation of the Sunshine and should not be considered as such. She stated that Mr. Jennings was proposing an adoption of the logo and yet the Council has not been presented with a recommendation from the Commission on Arts & Letters. Mr. Crow asked if any member of Council had a copy of the Marketing and Branding Strategy or had reviewed it within the last week. Mr. Jennings stated that he had. Mr. Crow asked Mr. Jennings if he could provide him with any specifics about the strategy. Mr. Jennings stated that he was asking staff be allowed to develop the City’s image by revisiting and completing the recommended strategy. Mr. Crow stated that the strategy should have been shared with all members of Council prior to the meeting and suggested that this issue be postponed until the next meeting to provide Council with an opportunity to do so. Mr. Kraft stated that he had not received a copy of the strategy nor had he discussed this issue with any member of Council, but he did not see a reason why it could not postponed until the next meeting. Mr. Crow made a motion to postpone this item until the next Council meeting and asked that a copy of the marketing strategy be made available for Council’s review and was seconded by Ms. Carr. Mr. Crow asked for a roll call vote on the motion. Roll Call vote was: AYES: Mr. Crow, Mr. Kraft and Dr. Carr. NAYS: Mr. Jennings, Mr. Glickert, Mr. Sharpe and Mayor Welsch. Dr. Carr stated that the demographics reflect that University City is a racially diverse city of many nationalities and her hope is that the administration will fully embrace this fact. She stated that she does not believe that Ferguson is the funnel through which this plan should be implemented. Dr. Carr posed the following questions: 1. Do we need to include the City’s mascot in our marketing efforts? Mr. Walker stated that he did not have the precise answer to this question at tonight’s meeting and suggested that he and Dr. Carr schedule a time to discuss all of these issues in greater detail. 2. What does marketing have to do with diversity? Mr. Jennings stated that his reference to University City being grouped together with other North County communities was based on the perceptions that had been expressed to him by other African-American leaders. 3. What has Brighton’s role been with respect to marketing University City? Mr. Walker stated that Brighton has assisted staff with the preparation of press releases and the City’s quarterly publication. 4. What has the Arts and Letters Commission’s role been in the marketing of University City? Mr. Walker stated that he believes the ordinance is very clear in terms of Arts and Letters providing advice to City Council. 5. Did the Mayor inform the Arts and Letters Commission that a photo illustrating the logo could not be placed in the City’s calendar because the logo was going to be changed? Mayor Welsch stated that she had not talked to anyone on the Arts and Letters Commission about the City’s calendar. Mr. Crow asked why members of Council should continue to ask residents to participate on commissions. He stated that his colleagues had the opportunity to show respect for the process that has always been followed in these chambers. 9