Local artist Max Grundy presented six options for a city flag during Monday evening’s Iola City Council meeting. Noting that he’s not originally from Iola, Grundy said his inspiration for the artistic renderings came mostly from his appreciation of the area’s natural beauty.
The flag presentation unfolded as council members expressed varied opinions on the designs, with options ranging from a clock tower to five representations of Iola’s scenic landscapes.
The favorite among council members depicted the old Allen County courthouse’s clock tower. Grundy added that the time on the clock is set to 3:04 — significant because Kansas became the nation’s 34th state.
“It’s honoring the tradition of our beautiful clock tower that was dedicated in 1905,” he noted. “We think it’s respectful to the tradition of our town. We know there’s still some bad feelings about it (the old courthouse) getting torn down, even though it happened in 1958. People are still sore about it.”
Grundy explained the beams emanating from the clock on the flag give a “forward thinking” look to the town. “In my mind, that is what our town is becoming,” he said.
MAYOR STEVE French praised the clock tower flag’s symbolism, however, others raised concerns about its colors. As the discussion progressed, the clock tower and land/water flags emerged as the council’s top choices.
Grundy was asked to attend the Jan. 8 city council meeting with color variations on the clock tower flag in hand for the council to review.
Council member Joelle Shallah proposed involving the community in the decision-making process, suggesting the narrowed-down selection be put to a public vote, possibly on social media. Council member Nicholas Lohman echoed Shallah’s suggestion.
French noted that various vendors in the city may want to obtain the image of the final flag for merchandising purposes. “They’re already talking amongst the community about how a flag could be used in their businesses,” he said.
The council unanimously approved the sole bid from Hampel Oil for gasoline and fuel for up to three years. Corey Schinstock, assistant city administrator, said he had contacted two local industries to bid the contract and had otherwise advertised the contract on the city’s website.
The bid reflects delivery charges and profit per gallon. The council was requested to award the bid to Hampel Oil for $0.09/per gallon for gasoline and $0.096/per gallon for fuel, for a three-year term beginning Feb. 1, 2024 and extending through Feb. 1, 2027.
In other news, French said he is receiving positive feedback about the holiday lighting around town and praised all the work that went into this. He reminded the council that at the Jan. 8 meeting outgoing council members Nickolas Kinder and Carl Slaugh will be recognized.
Kinder praised Slaugh (who was absent at Monday’s meeting), saying, “He was the person who wasn’t afraid of being the lone dissent.”
