ThisWeek CW 06/20/2013
Now that Groveport has grown enough to surpass village status, officials think it’s time to update the city flag.
And they’re looking for residents’ help.
Councilwoman Jean Ann Hilbert brought up the issue at Groveport City Council’s June 10 meeting, asking that the city consider a new design to reflect the city’s growth and accompanying changes.
Hilbert estimated the current flag was designed sometime in the early 1990s.
“We have so many good artists and creative people in this community that we need to come up with a new city flag that’s reflective of the community as a whole,” Hilbert said. “We have so many wonderful parks; we’re a family-oriented city with that hometown feel that continues to grow and our flag should be something that reflects that.”
Mayor Lance Westcamp agreed, saying he was thankful for Hilbert bringing up the issue. He said he was surprised it had been overlooked.
“This flag’s been around for a long time,” he said. “I can’t believe we’ve overlooked that, but this is an opportunity now to give it an update. I think this will take some time but we could start by bringing it up at the Committee of the Whole meeting.”
The Committee of the Whole was scheduled to meet June 17 at the Municipal Building.
Hilbert said she hopes this will be the beginning of a process she expects could wrap up by the end of the year.
“If anyone has ideas from the community that would be representative of our city status, we want that input,” she said. “We should talk about our flag design and think about colors — I think we’ve moved out of the brown age.
“I don’t expect this to happen overnight, but I don’t want it to drag on, either,” Hilbert added. “I think if we could get public input and pull together some designs, we might be able to come up with a good replacement over the next six months.”
Hilbert said residents are welcome to contact her or the city directly with suggestions.