Neighbors should have had a say on logo

I just finished reading the Susan Sarkauskas article on Batavia's new logo. Sometimes I wonder if towns don't look for reasons to waste taxpayers' money. In this case hiring a company for $50,000 to design a new logo for the city. I'm a resident and taxpayer of Batavia which like many local communities, can boast taxes higher than Benjamin Franklin's kite and just as shocking.

What did this $50,000 buy? The very clever, "BATAVIA: POWERED by NEIGHBORS".

The irony of the slogan is that the power of neighbors had very little to do with the slogan's conception. Perhaps the idea of a new slogan should have been turned over to the citizens of Batavia. I'm sure the population of the town could have come up with something just as resounding as what was purchased with their taxes.

With a population of 26,000-plus and an outstanding group of artists at Water Street Studios, the city of Batavia could have reaped a new slogan and logo and it would have been far less costly and provided far more pride for the neighbors (and taxpayers) of Batavia who had been involved and worked together for the change.

It certainly would have been "Of the people, by the people and for the people" as said by a great man from Illinois.

Edward C. Cook

Batavia