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Home My WebLink About15.F.2. City Flag Designation Discussion ~ /5: P: 2~ CITY OF SHAKOPEE Memorandum TO: Mayor and City Council Mark McNeill, City Administrator FROM: Paul Snook, Economic Development coordinat~ SUBJECT: Dates on Downtown Monument / Welcome Sign and City Flag DATE: January 7, 2003 For your information, enclosed is a letter from John Gutteter, Executive Director of the Scott County Historical Society answering a question Vision Shakopee Downtown Partnership and City staff had regarding an official beginning or "established" date of the City. The intent of this memo is to provide clarity to and background information on the discussion of the design of the City flag, and the date that would be incorporated into the design if you wish to do that. At its January 7th Board of Directors meeting, the Vision Shakopee Downtown Partnership approved a design of a monument / welcome sign (attached) that includes the text "Est. 1851". Three different dates were considered, including the two dates of incorporation of the City government (1857 and 1870), and the "established" or "settled" date of 1851. You may wonder why the downtown group did not select the City's incorporation date. The 1851 date was selected based on Mr. Gutteter's recommendation that downtown is a business district, and that the date that is associated with the establishment of trade (1851) is more fitting for the historic downtown than the date of the incorporation of City government. On a related note, a strong part of Vision Shakopee's mission is historic preservation, and therefore the date representing the beginning of _commerce and trade would be most appropriate for the monument / welcome sign. If you select an incorporation date for the flag, that would be consistent with what the flag represents (incorporation), while the date on the downtown monument / welcome sign, 1851, is consistent with what it represents - the establishment of commerce and trade. It would be entirely proper to have different dates for the sign and flag, since the dates would be correct and accurate in what they represent. signestdate.doc .SCOT.I.COUNTY ~ #-1 ... . . HISTO~ICAL. SOCIETY ~(l . ~ sa'llng and shanng th . . ~ seo . . \\\~ I .. . e history o. . z..:{ c;,. . . ~e ... . November 7, 2002 Mr. Don McNeil Vision Shakopee - Re. welcome sign Dear Mr. Mc:Neil, . Pointing to a specific "biJ!h date" for Shakopee depends in patt on how "Shakopee" is being referredto. For instance, the city of Shakopee, as a legal and formal government entity was .incorporated in 1857 and again in 1870. From 1861 to 1870 the city of Shakopee cea.sed to exist as a legal entity, thus the expense oflnfrastmcture would be the responsibility of township and county governments. Loss of control of these decisions most likely led to the re-incorporation of the city of Shakopee. However, the community of Shakopee really begari in 1851 with Thomas Holm~s establis1un~nt .ofhis:fur trade post on the river levy on the i.ri.tersection of the street that bears his name. Trade and commerce has continued uninterrupted in the general vicinity from that point forward. . Because the downtown is essentially a business district I would suggest that the date associated with trade is more important for this occasion rather than the birthdate of the government of the city of Shakopee. I support the date of 18 51 ~ when contemplating a date for the sign "welcome to historic downtown Shakopee." Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions or would like more information. . Sincerely, 1~ 11 ~ John S. Gutteter Executive Director 23~ South Fuller Street Phone (612) 445-0378 -. . .. ......,......,,, "'u. ,/--1"')\ 1I11~ "11:" 4' Welcome to Historic , DOWNTOWN SHAKOPEE Est. 1851 Font: Goudy Old Style . . l5~ f~ :J. .- City of Shakopee Memorandum TO: Mayor & City Council Mark McNeill, City Administrator FROM: Tracy Schaefer, Assistant to the City Administrator SUBJECT: Official City Flag MEETING DATE: January 7, 2003 Introduction City Council needs to discuss and give direction to city staff on the design and date to be used for the official city flag and business related stationery. Background After speaking to the Scott County Historical Society, staff has learned that the community of Shako pee began 1851, and first incorporated in 1857, but then unincorporated. The City did not officially reincorporate until 1870. Years back, a former City Council used Attachment A (seal/old flag) with the date of 1853 as the official city flag. The Police Department still uses this seal as their official patch. However, several years ago a different City Council made the decision to use attachment B (river logo) as the City's official letterhead, but did not create any city flags. The challenge with this letterhead is that it uses the date of 1857 to establish Shakopee's "Community Pride;" however, this date according to the Scott County Historical Society is the first, not the last incorporation date. City staffis unaware of why 1857 has been used. The original City seal/old flag has "Scott County Seat 1853.. .Seal of the City of Shakopee Minnesota. . ." around the perimeter of the seal. (This is not shown on your copy, but I will bring a large copy ofthe flag to the meeting for your review.) City staff recommends that, if Council concurs with this flag, that the words SEAT 1853 be removed from the flag to decrease the confusion of the incorporation date. Scott County was incorporated in 1853, so this statement would be correct. The City of Shako pee was not yet incorporated as of 1853. Staff recommends using "City of Shako pee.. . Scott County.. .Minnesota." Two issues are at hand 1) which incorporation date to use for the City of Shakopee's flag 2) which design the City Council would like to use for its official city flag. ill addition to the flag, city letterheadlbusiness cards, Attachment C, uses the phrase "Community Pride Since 1857," thus the Council should discuss if it wishes the City to continue using the 1857 date or if it wishes to use the 1870 date, when the last incorporation was made. 1 . .... Recommendation City staff recommends that: 1) the City Seal (Attachment A) would be used for the flag, with the words SEAT 1853 removed from the perimeter of the seal. It would read "City of Shakopee . . . .Scott County. . .Minnesota" 2) all future city related business should refer back to 1871, not "Community Pride Since 1857." City staff recommends that Council's decision for the city flag and letterhead is consistent to decrease public confusion. Alternatives City Council has numerous options and alternatives for the date and design of both the city flag and city "letterhead." Dates 1) 1857 - the first incorporation/"Community Pride" 2) 1870 - the most current incorporation 3) "No Date" - no date could be used on the flag or the letterhead Flag Designs 1) "Shakopee Logo" - river that is currently used for business purposes 2) "Shakopee Seal" - old flag 3) "New Design" - this would need to be contracted out and would cost the city more money than using the other design alternatives. Action Requested City Council should give direction to the preferred flag design, and date if one is to be used. 2 ~------_._.._-- . ~0 A. .' I ! - . 9/23/02 A2219 Shakopee, MN PROOF RESPONSIBILITY Please review all spelling, 5' x 3' flag designation of ink color on design, placement of design on banner. Note: The appearance of ink color may vary depending on fabric color. Every effort has been made to create this proof accurately. Since there is always the possibility of incorrect interpretation, we request that you review this proof carefully. Printing trade customs relieve us of responsibility if work is printed per customer's OK. I reviewed this proof and it is phone: (800) 328-6195 acceptable to print as shown. fax: (952) 885-0099 NAME: DATE: Please FAX to Display Sales dl& @11jJ~!r(: (fAol/er( (!j()J11jJ111!1J 952-885-0099 - --- -- - -- ----- --- - --- - ---- --_._-~ '0." S COMrv1UNITY PRIDE SINCE 1857 : ~ ---------------- AitA~~ t C . SHAKOPEE I I i I I I , COMMUNITY PRIDE SINCE 1857 129 Holmes Street South' Shakopee. Minnesota' 55379-1351 . 952-233-3800 . FAX 952-233-380 I . www.ci.shakopee.mn.us