Proponents for the City of Powell River’s Pearl of the Sunshine Coast brand claim greater citizen representation than that from the survey used to change it to Coastal by Nature.
At its Thursday, May 21, meeting, council was presented with a 920-signature petition requesting the city branding remain unchanged.
Don Edwards, who opposes the change from Pearl of the Sunshine Coast to Coastal by Nature, said the numbers of petition signatories outnumbered the respondents to the online questionnaire that was the basis for the change in branding. Edwards presented the petition to Mayor Dave Formosa at the meeting. Edwards said the petition had names, signatures and addresses, and he couldn’t say the same for the online questionnaire.
He added that the 270 online responses from the 13,000 residents in the city was not a good sample.
In making the change, Edwards said a consideration that does not seem to have been taken into account was the ripple effect the decision has on small, home-based businesses that have purchased tags or decals for their products to be shipped out of town. These people cannot afford to keep changing logos on their products, according to Edwards.
Any money that is designated to the change in branding should be put instead into improvement of local roads, Edwards said. “Every road you drive on is in deplorable condition. To waste one dollar on this name change is ludicrous.”
Edwards said he strongly recommends that council reconsider the decision to change the branding.
“I want a motion to rescind,” he said.
Councillor Jim Palm said he was the only councillor who had spoken against the name change. He said the petition initiative was a good example about the need for public consultation.
Palm said he’d like the matter brought back to city staff for a thorough examination. His suggestion is to retain and use both brands.
Mayor Dave Formosa said he was away when the decision was made to go with Coastal by Nature and was surprised at how rapidly the decision was made.
To allow for further discussion Palm asked that the subject be placed on a committee of the whole agenda.
