Reno is rebranding it's image and that means some changes are coming to the Biggest Little City. The city adopted a $234,00 budget for a new logo. And a new master plan campaign could change how the city makes decisions in the future.
The new master plan for the city is going to take two years to complete. Also, the city council voted to adopt this new logo for just one dollar from the Biggest Little City Movement. But some people aren't in agreement with the budget used for the campaign launch.
Kevin Dwer from Seattle, Washington said, "I think the old one portrays an image of Reno being the biggest little city in the world and it does have a cool quality to it. The new one you showed me looks a little bit like a railroad sign."
Dominic Morgando from Reno said, "It looks plain like a stop sign. People aren't going to like that. When you come to Reno you're going to want to see the mountains. The stuff that the old sign has and shows the city, people like that, that's what people come here for."
Mayor Hillary Schieve says changing the logo will help attract new business to the city by reinforcing the "Biggest Little City" branding. "I think that's one thing as a city we need to do reflect our times, and I definitely think this campaign speaks to that. The Biggest Little City, people understand it, they know it, it's who we are, I think it will attract businesses it will attract tourism."
The "R" logo and "Biggest Little City" logos will be used together in the future and branding will be treated like a campaign. This "R" design will be used as a secondary or informal logo on all materials for the city. But even some city council members are concerned about the hefty budget.
Reno City Councilwoman Naomi Duerr said, "I'm nervous of adopting of a budget amount, almost a quarter million dollars to be honest with you, $234,000. And I'm not quite sure what we're doing."
Reno City Councilwoman Jenny Brekhus said, "I can see the $234,000 dollars budget come back at a subsequent meeting."
That's what the council plans on doing, creating a subcommittee in the future to discuss all the details about marketing this new image. Council members also approved a $234,000 budget for a launch campaign of the R logo. Placement on city buildings could cost $80,000 and adoption of the R logo could take 1-3 years.
And in the next two years, the city will create a new master plan. This will serve as an outline for decisions like housing in downtown, transportation, or even climate issues like the drought. Phase I of the master plan is public comment. The city is hoping to reach out to thousands of citizens for their feedback on what they want the city to look like.
Andrew Clinger, Reno City Manager said, "This will set the policies or the foundation if you will for the next 20 years on how we move forward as a city."
Residents can take a survey to give feedback. Then phase II two starts in January, that's when a master plan will be drafted for the future.
