How does 'Batavia: Powered by Neighbors' roll off the tongue?

"Batavia: Powered by Neighbors."

Is it a catchier slogan than "City of Energy?" Will it help attract new businesses and residents?

Maybe, Batavia aldermen think, with some tweaking of the proposed logo that would go with it.

Sparc Inc. was hired in 2017 to develop a branding campaign. It conducted an internet survey and interviewed 33 town leaders, including politicians, business people and religious leaders. The No. 1 asset, respondents indicated, was the town's residents - particularly their generosity and willingness to volunteer to help each other.

While aldermen were generally positive about how a new logo and motto could be used on everything from street signs to souvenir swag, the logo got a cooler response.

Alderman Scott Salvati said he would have to let it "marinate" a bit before rendering judgment. Other aldermen expressed some hesitancy.

Alderman Susan Stark said she liked the marketing campaign but not the yellow logo. The logo is a stylized windmill fan, with the motto below it in lowercase letters, a sans-serif font, and no dot over the "i" in "Batavia."

She said it seemed "a little Mary Poppins-ish" and too casual. "I'm just glad it isn't Comic Sans (font)," she said. "Can I picture this on the side of our squad cars? No. Can I picture this on police patches? No. ... It's so market-y."

She agreed with another alderman who said it reminded them of Walmart's logo.

The current logo features a windmill and a drawing of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory's Wilson Hall, on a light-blue background. Survey respondents were split 50/50 positive/negative on the windmill part, according to Sparc. People who liked it said it is important to the town's history, sets Batavia apart and looks interesting. On the negative side, respondents said it doesn't represent the future, is only cool if you like history, and that it looks silly and people don't get it.

Batavia was known in the late 18th and early 19th centuries for making windmills that were used on farms and ranches throughout the world.

Salvati agreed the logo design seemed a little casual. He disagreed about using a more "stately" font. "We're different. Why be boring? Why be stodgy?" he said.

Alderman Marty Callahan liked it. The city logo does not have to hearken to history as much as the current logo does, he indicated.

Sparc, which is being paid up to $50,000, returns Tuesday with a tweaked design.