The City of Jackson has a new official City Seal City administration is making plans to remove representations of the former seal, following a 6 to 1 vote to replace it from the Jackson City Council at the Nov. 9 meeting.
The new seal is circular, with text that says “City of Jackson, Michigan Founded in 1829" It shows a silhouette of the Downtown Jackson skyline with the Grand River flowing below. Two versions were produced; one in color which uses blue and green, and another in black and white.
The Jackson Public Arts Commission (JPAC) was tasked by the City Council to come up with a design that was more specific to the City of Jackson, Michigan and removed visual representations of Andrew Jackson. After receiving input from residents, JPAC worked with Weblinx, a graphic design company from Chicago, to create concepts The new seal was selected by JPAC and sent to the City Council for official consideration.
The former City Seal, which was adopted in 1937, references a statue in Washington, DC of US President Andrew Jackson, the City’s namesake In July 2020, the City Council voted unanimously to start the City Seal redesign process. This decision came after residents raised concerns about racist associations the seal may have by depicting Jackson, a slave holder whose actions led to the forced relocation of Native Americans in the “Trail of Tears”.
Mayor Derek Dobies proposed changing the seal last year and is pleased to see the change take effect. “Our city deserves a seal that directly references our own community,” Dobies said. “I thank the Public Arts Commission for leading this effort and creating updated imagery that better represents how we feel about the City of Jackson in the 21st Century”.
The City Seal is different than the City’s logo, and is used for official documents and display at City facilities. City administration will replace images of the old seal at City Hall, the Jackson Police Department, and in parks Police officer uniform arm patches will also have to be replaced.
City Manager Jonathan Greene says the new seal will be phased in over the next year as City staff work with the graphic design company to apply it to facilities, signage and uniforms Funding for the seal swapping will come from the City’s general fund.
In additional news, City Council approved a plan to use $23 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to replace nearly 400 lead service lines in the City. The replacements along four streets will happen in 2022.
The Council passed the first reading of an ordinance that will create an Affordable Housing Development Authority and a Housing Trust Fund. If this plan is given final approval at the next meeting, $35 million in ARP funds would be used to power the programs.
$700,000 in ARP funds are going toward a new fire truck for the Jackson Fire Department to replace an aging truck. The City Council approved the purchase.
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://legalnews.com/subscriptions
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
