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Poolesville commissioners request refinements to proposed town flag, ask for simpler town-hall icon and color adjustments
Summary
After a lengthy presentation, commissioners asked the flag committee to scale down the town-hall silhouette, tighten line weights, explore edge color treatments and provide several simplified mock-ups before the next meeting.
A majority of Poolesville commissioners on June 22 asked the flag committee to return with simplified and smaller variations of a proposed town flag that combines symbols for agriculture, community and education.
The committee presented three main mock-ups that pair a circular motif (community), a green field (agriculture), blue (water/aquifer) and laurel leaves (education), with a silhouette of the old town hall as a historical anchor. Commissioners repeatedly urged the designer to reduce the town-hall detail and scale, thin line weights, and test edge-color options such as a gold/yellow border so the flag would read clearly at a distance.
"I think we can make it more symbolic," one commissioner said during the discussion, urging a triangle-and-arch simplification for the town-hall shape. Several commissioners criticized the current white-on-white detail and suggested a light gray or silver outline or removing interior lines altogether. Committee members said they will produce multiple iterations showing the town-hall as a pared-down geometric form, alternate color balances (more blue/green), and variations both with and without the building.
Commissioners also debated whether the flag should emphasize Poolesville's agricultural setting or include a stronger municipal element. One member said the circle can stand for community while the blue represents the sole-source aquifer that underpins the town. The committee was asked to return mid-meeting with a short set of revised mock-ups and to provide at least two artistic interpretations of the town-hall (one more abstract, one more literal) for commissioners to review.
The flag committee was praised for its work but directed to prioritize legibility and simplicity — classic principles for municipal flags — and to limit heavy interior detail that will not reproduce well when the flag is flying or viewed from a distance. The group did not vote; next steps are for the committee to deliver revised images and alignment options before the next commission meeting.
