Rebranding Burnsville, Part Two: City's Quest for New Logo Continues

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Tuesday, the Burnsville City Council sifted through a new round of possible city logos and debated their merits before arriving at a tentative decision: Logo 1, Revision B had everything they were looking for—except a tree trunk.

"I like it. It gives us something modern without going totally out there," said Council Member Dan Gustafson.

Mayor Elizabeth Kautz agreed, Council Member Mary Sherry demurred, and Council Member Bill Coughlin stayed completely neutral.

"I'll go with whatever the consensus is," Coughlin said. 

Sherry felt the Logo 1, Revision A would be a better fit, but that she had no strong objection to Revision B. She merely wanted the evergreen in the center to look more " tree-y."

"It's too flamelike," Sherry said. "I would like a tree trunk, just a tiny one, to make it look more like a tree."

This is the second batch of potential city logos to come before the council since July, when the city began its . The current design came into being in 1976, and to some eyes appears dated. At a meeting on July 14, city staff presented three new design options, all created by Greg Preslicka of Preslicka Studios in Savage.

Communications Coordinator Marty Doll told the council that feedback from the public has been mixed.

"It's impossible to please 60,000 plus residents. From what we heard, some people thought the new designs were great and others though they were absolutely appalling," Doll said.

One consistent concern did pop up, however: Cost. Doll and members of the council said there is a general perception that updating the logo will be an expensive affair.

"It really isn't. The flag outside, the logo on city hall, and the plastic panel (on the roadfront sign on Nicollet) would be only things we'd need replaced immediately," Doll said.

The old logo will likely linger for quite a few years. City staffers recommended a long-term implementation plan, rather than replacing all of the old logos at once, a move which would be both expensive and time consuming. The city will continue to use envelops, paper, vehicles and other items emblazoned with the current logo until replacement or restocking is necessary.

"They need to understand we're not going to put a dumpster-load of letterhead out there," Sherry said. 

However, the question of changing the logo first emerged afer the city decided to erect monumental welcome signs on all the main roads leading into town, which would add cost. It's unclear what the status of the plan may be. Neither the council nor city staff made any further mention of the monument signs on Tuesday.