A proposed logo to be emblazoned on the refurbished L’Orignal water tower got the thumbs down from Champlain Township councillors.
The proposed logo featured the new Champlain Township logo dominating above the words: ‘Village de | L’Orignal Village.’
This idea didn’t sit well with Champlain Councillor Michel Lalonde, who argued that it wasn’t the point to say that the standpipe (water tower) was in Champlain, but rather, people looked to water towers for the name of the community.
Lalonde thought that L’Orignal should be big and Champlain should be smaller.
Champlain Township Mayor Normand Riopel said he had been thinking along the same lines and produced some mock-ups that he had asked someone to prepare for the meeting. The wording related to L’Orignal was so small that it would likely not be legible from a distance, he said. He held up a page with the Champlain logo and just the word ‘L’ORIGNAL’ written in large capital letters.
Councillor Paul Emile Duval suggested having just the word ‘L’Orignal’ on the tower.
But Councillor Gérard Miner pointed out that as part of the township’s rebranding exercise, council and staff were to ensure that the name of the township appeared more frequently.
The township has yet to complete rebranding its community signs and other items, said CAO Kevin Tessier in response to a question from Councillor Ginette Clément, asking if it was sufficient to have the Champlain logo on signs at the entrance to communities.
Champlain Township Mayor Normand Riopel agreed that the rebranding had to be considered, but Councillor Sarah Bigelow thought the whole thing was too wordy.
“I never tell clients I am taking them to the Village of L’Orignal or to the Village of Vankleek Hill. It’s just L’Orignal or Vankleek Hill,” she said, referring to her real estate clients.
Councillor Ginette Clément pointed out that in Maxville, located in the Township of North Glengarry, the water towers have only the community names on them, not the name of the township.
Miner returned to the notion that the Champlain logo had to be present for the municipality to be recognized. He noted that the entrance signs to small communities within Grenville-sur-la-Rouge always indicated the name of the municipality with the name of the community, too.
“I never heard anyone say, ‘I’m going to Champlain’,” said Councillor Paul Burroughs. People use the village names for reference, he said.
Councillor Peter Barton agreed with Councillor Miner. “We have spent or wasted money on rebranding, but we will never be known as Champlain without our name. We like our community names, but we have to include Champlain,” he said.
A rebranding exercise cost Champlain Township about $40,000 last year. This cost did not include new lettering or branding on stationery, vehicles, equipment, signs, etc. Implementation of the new township brand was to take place over time and not all at once.
Which way do we go, asked Riopel? “With this design . . . or just L’Orignal?” he asked.
Council voted in favour of Riopel’s mock-up, with Councillors Clément and Burroughs voting against the design, as they preferred just the single word: L’Orignal.
A second resolution to boost the budget for the lettering and design to a possible $35,000 was also approved by council. CAO Kevin Tessier said he did not know if the design change would cost more than the budgeted $21,000.
