Changing the look of the Oconto County logo from a nature scene to an image of the courthouse drew mixed reviews Thursday from County Board members.
A logo designed by Colortech Signs and Graphics of Green Bay was introduced as a possible replacement of a tourism-themed logo the county adopted about 20 years ago.
Administrative Coordinator Kevin Hamann said the tourism logo is not appropriate in some situations.
“Sometimes when we send letters to people, it’s not a nice letter,” he said. “It says you’re in violation of this or you did this wrong, so there’s been some discussion that we should have a general county government logo.”
The existing logo depicts an image of a fishing boat, a deer and pine trees silhouetted in the setting sun, along with the phrase “Oconto County a place for you.”
The proposed logo shows an image of the courthouse, with the wording “Oconto County Wisconsin” and “Est. 1851.”
Supervisor Melissa Wellens said the nature logo featuring fishing, hunting and outdoor recreation promotes the county well.
“I agree the new logo is very nice, but I would prefer to leave the logo alone,” she said.
Supervisor Chris Augustine also spoke in favor of the current logo.
“I like the original logo better than the new one. The new one looks like it’s a throwback,” he said.
Supervisor Diane Nichols had the opposite reaction.
“I like the new logo. I think it would be very appropriate for our county to adopt it,” she said.
However, she said the logo is misleading in the wording “Est. 1851.” While the county was established in 1851, the courthouse wasn’t built until 1891, and the logo doesn’t distinguish this well enough, she said. She recommended 1891 be depicted prominently on the courthouse’s image in the logo.
Paul Ehrfurth, executive director of Oconto County Economic Development Corporation, said he supported a change to a more government-focused graphic. OCEDC uses the county’s nature logo, and the county’s adoption of the proposed logo would differentiate OCEDC and Oconto County, he said.
Although OCEDC receives funding from the county, it is not a county agency.
The cost to transition to a new logo, which wasn’t clear, was viewed as prohibitive.
“I can’t see us putting money into doing this all at once,” Supervisor Guy Gooding said.
Adopting the logo gradually would mean two separate logos would be visible on county vehicles and in other places, which wouldn’t be ideal, he added.
“The cost has really got to be nailed down,” he said.
“If a department wants to replace them all at once, it’s going to be a costly item,” Hamann said. “We haven’t really determined how that transition will be.”
The Finance Committee will continue to discuss logo options. It meets at 9:30 a.m. July 14.
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