Last-minute public outcry over the suggested change to the city's current sternwheeler has Coun. Ranj Pillai suggesting the city should hold off on adopting a new logo and tagline.

At its meeting Monday evening, city council was presented with an 845-signature petition calling on the city to keep the sternwheeler as its logo.

Before the presentation, council heard a recommendation from staff that it move ahead with a bylaw to change the city's logo to that of a white horse with the tagline "Above All Expectations”.

The recommendation comes after a process began last fall with a $50,000 grant from the Yukon government and another $10,000 of the city's cash.

The city hired eSolutions of Waterloo, Ont. to produce a new brand in response to requests from the business community.

After 681 people responded to a survey about Whitehorse, eSolutions came up with a number of options, narrowing them down to three which were presented to the community.

None used the sternwheeler, Coun. Doug Graham pointed out last night.

Faced with the three options, a majority (67 per cent) of the 54 who filled out comments at the public meeting supported the new white horse logo and 54 per cent supported the "Above All Expectations” tagline to go with it.

City spokesman Matthew Grant told council last night the sternwheeler was not part of the options brought forward because of an early survey showing many don't believe the sternwheeler captures the right image for the city.

The survey, completed by 681 residents either on-line or by writing, found just 4.83 per cent "strongly agreed” the sternwheeler was the right image for the city.

Another 19.69 per cent agreed, 32.82 were neutral in their reaction, 31.08 per cent disagreed and 11.78 per cent strongly disagreed.

Graham wasn't buying Grant's argument Monday night, as he pointed out less than 50 per cent disagreed with the sternwheeler image.

Residents were faced with choosing from among three images, none of which featured the boats that once plied Yukon waterways .

"We didn't give people the option,” Graham said.

As he spoke, Vanessa Brault, who led the petition campaign, could be seen in the gallery nodding her head in agreement.

She had done the same earlier when Coun. Betty Irwin recalled the trouble she had with the project from the start in hiring a consultant from Outside to figure out how residents feel about the city.

Coun. Dave Austin countered a request for proposals was released with only one proposal submitted locally that was out of the project's budget.

Irwin compared being given the three options to choose from to being given the choice of how someone would want to be executed.

She suggested that given the backlash in the community, the city should get it right before it adopts a new brand.

Irwin also suggested the sternwheeler, adopted as a city logo in the 1970s, could be modernized.

Like Irwin, Pillai stressed the importance of having the branding done right to ensure there's buy-in from the community.

Suggesting the project had gotten somewhat "skewed” along the way, he said what the business community had been looking for was something it could integrate and have at the ready for those wondering about the city.

The business community never said anything about having a uniform, internal design, he said.

Pallai said he understands the frustration among other council members that residents are now coming forward at the 11th hour to speak out against losing the sternwheeler.

However, it's important to listen, he said. He suggested deferring the project and perhaps asking residents for their preference between the white horse or the sternwheeler as a logo.

Coun. Dave Stockdale also had some issues with the branding, though it had little to do with the concept being selected.

Rather, he said, he had been left with the impression that whatever was chosen would be for materials going to people outside the city, and not a complete overhaul of city truck logos, signs and so on.

Other members of council, however, argued residents had enough time and public input opportunities between the early survey and the public meeting on the three proposals.

At some point, it's important to get on with it, Austin said, and council members who aren't in favour of the proposal can vote it down.

"Council has to make a decision,” said Mayor Bev Buckway said.

Coun. Florence Roberts, meanwhile, argued that as an "ad gimmick”, the white horse symbol is "pretty wonderful”.

It wasn't until after the council discussion that Brault came forward with her petition, arguing she hadn't meant to frustrate council, but has found many people are unaware of the branding project.

As she informs people of the situation, many tell her,"Thank you, Vanessa,” she said.

In an earlier presentation to council, she wondered whether there was a need for a branding change, argueing the sternwheeler is unique to the city and what the community was built on.

In six days, Brault managed to find 845 people willing to state the same through the petition.

"This has consumed me for a week,” she said.

Joining Brault at the table was Dan Burke, who told council he and a number of other seniors who don't use the Internet were unaware of the branding initiative.

There was also advertising done through media and at the Canada Games Centre, with media coverage of the issue as well. Burke didn't come across those sources of information, except for a short mention in a newspaper he said he didn't understand.

"We don't want it changed,” Burke said of the logo.

Seniors make up 30 per cent of the territory, he added, and surveys like the earlier branding questionnaire should be brought to voters so they can have a say on such issues.

Council will vote next week on whether to move forward with the bylaw to adopt the new brand.

If it does go ahead, this city wouldn't be the only community to have a white horse for its logo.

A quick look at the website for Whitehorse, Victoria in Australia shows a side view of the animal, appearing similar to a chess piece and surrounded by a rectangle of black.

The local white horse logo would feature more of a detailed head with a blue wavy "W” for a mane.

Implementing the brand – changing the decals on trucks, ordering new stationary and so on – would be done in phases over two years, costing approximately $10,000 each year.

The city still has $10,000 left from the project it could spend on implementation for this year, Grant told reporters Monday.