Public invited to choose among Charles City flag design finalists

To The Press

An effort to create a new community flag for Charles City has come down to four final designs, with the public being invited to vote on their favorite.

Spearheaded by the Charles City Lions Club in conjunction with its 100th anniversary celebration, the quest to come up with a community flag began more than a year ago when the public was invited to submit design concepts to be considered.

The intention is to fly the new city flag, along with the U.S. and Iowa flags, on the 3-pole memorial in Central Park dedicated last May by the Lions Club.

The Lions assembled a committee of community representatives to view the design submissions and score them based on elements they liked.

There was no consensus on any one design, but four entries were selected for various design elements, which included the cable bridge, flowing blue river, green fields, the incorporation of orange along with the blue and green colors, the use of the letter ‘C’ or ‘CC’ representing Charles City, and possibly incorporating a tractor theme or industrial gear.

The flag process was then turned over to a task force for further design and refinement. A variety of the recommended design elements, shapes and colors were considered, with some of them undergoing a number of revisions. Flag companies recommended keeping the designs simple and clean for easy viewing.

Working with professional graphic artist Nancy Dercher, the task force of Mayor Dean Andrews, City Administrator Steve Diers, Community Development Director Mark Wicks and Lion’s Club representative Brad Bailey ultimately narrowed the field to four final designs to pick from.

Now it’s up to the public.

Between March 28 and April 8, residents are being invited to vote on their top two picks from among the four finalists, scoring which they like best and which is their second choice.

Voting may be done online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NRL8DN6 or individuals can stop in to see the flag designs and vote in person at either the Community Development Office at 401 North Main St. or the Charles City Public Library at 106 Milwaukee Mall during regular business hours.

For more information, contact the Community Development Office at (641) 228-2335 or email info@charlescitychamber.com.