During a December 15th interview on The Dom Giordano Program on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, Upper Dublin Commissioner Liz Ferry (Ward 1) and a Republican candidate for Montgomery County Commissioner spoke about how the Upper Dublin commissioners had recently voted to change the township’s seal. In the interview, Ferry referred to the change as “silly” and spoke unfavorably about the removal of the nuclear family from the seal. She also states that there wasn’t a discussion about the removal and that she had been “outnumbered” and “outvoted” and that the decision was “odd.” You can listen to the interview below:

Hearing the interview led us to look at the process of how the seal came to be changed. We reviewed various agendas and minutes of meetings, plus watched the video of the December 13th meeting. Ferry and the other commissioners were included in a string of emails with the township as we sought information but did not offer any comment.

What did we find?

There was ample opportunity for discussion. Ira Tackel, president of the Board of Commissioners, asked if the commissioners had the opportunity to review the proposed changes and there was a discussion on what side the eagle should be facing, the preferred color scheme of the ribbon, and the overall changes.

Pictured at the top of this article is the old seal next to the newly adopted seal (note that the new seal will have the eagle facing in the other direction). As you can see there is an updated eagle, the term “brotherhood” was replaced with “community,” seven stars were added to represent the township’s seven wards, and three of the four symbols within the shield remained the same. The one change was the family was removed and replaced with the hand and seeds. While this change was mentioned, it was never discussed in any detail. Ferry didn’t raise it as an issue or initiate a discussion about it.

Once the discussion concluded, there was a unanimous vote to adopt the resolution and the new seal. Yes, Ferry voted to adopt the new seal that she then went on to criticize in a radio interview.

So how did the new seal come to be? We were also curious as to whether the public had been engaged to offer input on a new seal. After scrolling through the township’s social media and emails, there didn’t appear to be any effort to engage the public in the process. In an email, Township Manager Kurt Ferguson shared the following:

As the Township Manager, who began in July, I instructed staff to move forward with the both the seal and logo.  The logo went first with an alternative being proposed and the board then responding and initiating follow up alternatives. 

The seal was given to the Board as a staff recommendation, which then had a tweak to the eagle and a color to the ribbon which was approved the same night.  The difference between the two was the amount of the time to get to the final approval.

The process, started several years ago, I’m told, which was then pursued this year.  I would imagine the delay would have been driven by the pandemic, work from home, etc. and then the tornado on September 1, 2021, getting in a new facility, new manager, and my goal with staff to take before the Board.

I would not view this process to have a public input component, like a comprehensive or open space plan, but as a directive of the Commissioners with insights provided by the staff.

Let us know what you think about the new seal in the comments.

Images: Upper Dublin Township