An effort to create a new community flag for Charles City has come down to four final designs, which the public is being invited to vote on as to which is their favorite.
Spearheaded by the Charles City Lions Club in conjunction with its 100th anniversary celebration, the quest to come up with a community flag began more than a year ago when the public was invited to submit design concepts to be considered. The intention is to fly the new flag, along with the U.S. and Iowa flags, on the new 3-pole memorial in Central Park dedicated last May by the Lions Club.
The Lions assembled a committee of community representatives to view the design submissions and score them based on elements they liked. There was no consensus on any one particular design, but four entries were selected for various design elements, which included the cable bridge, flowing blue river, green fields, the incorporation of orange along with the blue and green colors, the use of the letter ‘C’ or ‘CC’ representing Charles City, and possibly incorporating a tractor theme or industrial gear.
The flag process was then turned over to a task force for further design and refinement. A variety of the recommended design elements, shapes and colors were considered, with some of them undergoing a number of revisions. Flag companies recommended keeping the designs simple and clean for easy viewing. Working with professional graphic artist Nancy Dercher, the task force of Mayor Dean Andrews, City Administrator Steve Diers, Community Development Director Mark Wicks and Lion’s Club representative Brad Bailey ultimately narrowed the field down to four final designs to pick from.
Now it’s up to the public. The flag committee is requesting public input to help choose the final design out of the four final designs. Between March 28 and April 8, residents are asked to identify their number one and number two picks. Voting may be done online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NRL8DN6 or individuals can stop in to see the flag designs and vote in person at either the Community Development office at 401 N. Main or the Charles City Public Library at 106 Milwaukee Mall during regular business hours. For more information, contact the Community Development office at 641-228-2335 or email info@charlescitychamber.com