East Bethel became the latest city to state its intent to fly the 1983 Minnesota state flag, voting 4-0 at its May 11 meeting.
The council first discussed the matter April 27, City Administrator Matt Look said, and directed staff to prepare a formal resolution to display the old flag on municipal property.
State law does not require municipalities to fly the current state flag; cities can choose which flag to fly, if any, Look said.
Resident Mary Wells, speaking during a previous public comment period, said there were state flags only at the ice arena and inside city hall.
“Since this council is supposed to be nonpartisan, not representing any political party, I just would like you to keep an open mind on this issue,” Wells said.
Wells, who said she personally preferred the new flag, said she had kept up with the process and felt the design and implementation process had been explained in detail.
“There were several opportunities along the way where they collected broad public citizen input,” Wells said. “And so many people said they don’t know how it came to be. But it is on each of us, I believe, to be engaged and pay attention to the issues that are important to us.”
Wells said that if the resolution passed, she hoped the old flag would be kept as a historic flag and that the new flag would be flown in addition as a symbol of nonpartisanship.
Mayor Ardie Anderson, noting that only two state flags were being flown, asked whether the intent was to have the option to fly the old flag or to start flying another.
Council Member Jim Smith said the city should be able to make its own choice on which flag to fly.
“I’ve had a lot of residents call me and say, you’re not gonna fly that new one are you?” Smith said. “And I just said, it’s not up to me, we’ve all gotta vote on it. But there was a lot of negativity about it, and so that’s why I brought it up.”
Smith said he opposed the flag change in part because of its cost, citing $35,000 for the work of the 13-member redesign committee and nearly $4 million in additional costs since then.
“Because they’ve had to change flags everywhere, uniforms and vehicle decals,” Smith said. “To me, that’s a lot of money that’s spent on this flag. And that’s our money, is how I look at it.”
Council Member Tim Miller said the concern that a five-member council could not adequately represent every viewpoint in the city on the flag was, in one sense, correct.
“In a community as diverse as East Bethel, like ours is, residents are always gonna hold different views,” Miller said. “Some will prefer the new flag, some are going to prefer the original flag. That difference of opinion is actually normal within a healthy city.”
Miller said the purpose of the City Council was not to act as a mirror for every preference in the city, but to hear residents before making a decision that reflects the interests of the city as a whole.
“This discussion is not about whether any one resident is entitled to her opinion,” Miller said. “She absolutely is. Okay? Every resident is absolutely entitled to support the flag they prefer just as every resident is entitled to disagree. But a city building displays a public symbol, and public symbols are chosen by public officials through a public process.”
Miller said that for many, the old state flag was a better symbol of the state on municipal property because it had been part of the state’s history and public landscape longer than the new design.
“I think that matters, because government symbols should provide continuity,” Miller said. “They should give residents stability, and something they’re familiar with.”