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A rendering of the water tower design Jackson City Council picked via a 4-2 vote at their meeting April 8 following more than two months of deliberation.

JACKSON, MI – Following more than two months of postponements and deliberation, Jackson City Council voted in favor of a new design for two city water towers Tuesday, April 8.

The new design will feature "JACKSON" in Arial font with the words "Founded 1829" below the city's name. Both towers will feature the logo on two sides of their sides, as well as a blue base and white dome.

It will cost about $14,000 and come from the city's water and sewer funds, according to Jackson City Manager Patrick Burtch, who said contractors already have started painting the base color on the towers. The project should be complete in about two months, he said.

At the City Council's March 25 meeting, council originally had approved a logo, but following

an unrelated closed session,

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Council members Dan Greer, 3rd Ward, and Laura Dwyer Schlecte, 4th Ward, moved to reconsider the vote on the contingency logo April 8, after Burtch said the contractors found the original logo would not be legible.

The original logo featured the design "JACKSON" with the city's seal as the "O."

Council voted 4-2 in favor of the design April 8, with council members Derek Dobies, 6th Ward, and Arlene Robinson, 1st Ward, voting "no." Councilman Andrew Frounfelker, 5th Ward, was absent.

"Tonight council let pass a previous motion to paint a design on a water tower if another initial design with our seal was illegible - all for an extra cost of $14,000," Dobies said, explaining why he voted "no" on the design. "This is the ugliest $14,000 design I have ever seen."

Officials originally said the towers would be left blank if a logo was not picked at the March meeting, but Jackson City Manager Patrick Burtch said the cold weather gave officials the opportunity to postpone their decision until April 8.

The two tanks are located at West Avenue at North Street and Roberts Street at Tyson Street.

In August, city officials contracted with Sterling Heights-based LC United Painting for $1.05 million worth of renovations to three water storage tanks within the city.

LC United Painting completed work on the city's ground storage tank last fall, located on Mansion Street by the city's water treatment plant.

Contact Will Forgrave at wforgrav@mlive.com or 517-262-7554. Follow him on Twitter at @WillForgrave.