Centerville council approves streamlined city seal, removes 'Founded in 1796' from official mark

The Centerville City Council approved Ordinance 12-25 on May 19 to revise the city seal and flag with a simplified graphic and by removing the phrase "Founded in 1796." Staff said the change is intended to modernize branding and make reproduction easier.

Communications Director Kate Bodsdorf presented a single-slide comparison showing the current seal on the left and the proposed, streamlined seal on the right. "The former or current logo is on the left, the updated 1 is on the right," Bodsdorf said. She added the most significant change: "we have eliminated that founded in 1796." Bodsdorf said either form of the logo would be acceptable for the seal or flag and that the white ring shown on the slide would not be part of the final flag mark.

Nut graf: The update is part of a broader city branding effort intended to align the city's seal, script and other marks across events, boards and departments and to reduce printing issues vendors reported when reproducing the older seal.

Bodsdorf said the city worked with Wilson Creative, the same local firm that designed the Uptown logo, and noted that some vendors had found the older "founded in 1796" text difficult to print. "Some of them have just said we can't do that because it's been almost impossible," she said, explaining the operational rationale for the change.

Ending: The ordinance passed after a public hearing that drew no speakers. Council approved Ordinance 12-25 by voice vote and placed the new seal into the city's branding hierarchy; staff said departments and vendors will switch to the revised mark according to an implementation schedule.