No-go on proposed Batavia logo

Batavia's quest for a new municipal logo will continue.

The city council this week voted 11-1 to table a decision to adopt a design by graphic artist Chris Daleen.

"For something as big as this, (the discussion) needs to stay in committee," Ward 3 Alderman Dan Chanzit said.

The proposed design features windmill blades in a circle next to the words "City of Batavia."

"This logo is a clean and modern representation of the City of Batavia that honors 30 years of progress and stands as a communitywide symbol for the future," Daleen said in the board packet.

"The logo is good and has all the elements of a successful logo," Chanzit said. "It originally had a lot of support from the committee, but it lost traction as we continued to deliberate."

Chanzit acknowledged the challenge of getting the entire council to agree on a design.

"I think the group is looking for a design that has more of a wow factor, which is going to be difficult to find because a lot of this is subjective," he said.

After the meeting, Ward 6 Alderman Nick Cerone, the only council member to vote against tabling the resolution, said he's concerned with the lack of progress.

"Let's move forward," he said.

Cerone said most of the feedback on the logo has been positive, but he thinks all 14 council members will never come to a consensus.

"Designing by committee is a very difficult thing," he said.

Cerone said the group is looking for a logo that reflects what the city stands for.

"Most logos don't tell a story," he said. "It's the ads and campaign behind a logo that tell the story."

Chanzit said he thinks the final design will incorporate images of a windmill and the Fox River.

"I'm confident that we'll figure this out back at the committee level," he said.

Chanzit praised the work that has gone into finding a logo.

"(Communications Coordinator Griffin Price) did a great job pulling this all together and I know we're all focused on arriving at a final decision," he said.