Next On The Agenda? BUTTHOLES.

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Yes, you read that right.  If you thought Pinehurst had a hot mess on its hands, get a load of what’s going on with The Town of Southern Pines.  The discussion at a recent Southern Pines town board meeting seemed as though Beavis and Butthead had hijacked town government (and even the local newspaper):

The Southern Pines Town Council reviewed a proposed design for a new town logo as part of a rebranding campaign but found the effort not quite what it was looking for.

Council members reviewed the work during a session Monday. The rebranding is part of the town’s overhaul and updating of its comprehensive land-use plan.

The new design was presented by Tripp Muldrow, a consultant from City Explained, the firm the town is working with to update the long-range land use plan. The logo focuses on the longleaf pine cone, a long-standing symbol of the area. The design is a top-down view of a pine cone, and the background features needles that point away from the cone as if orienteering lines on a compass.

The colors of the overall design reflect different aspects of the longleaf pine — from its early purple-hued cones to the lush green of its needles.

But there was hesitancy from the council in members’ response to the design. Town Council member Ann Petersen voiced what she thought it looked like.

“You’ve given us a pine cone butt,” Petersen said. “This right now looks like a brown rose that has wilted.”[…]

I’m not sure what motivated this effort to re-brand the town.  The discussion, as you would expect,  went downhill from there:

[…] The new design is a departure from the current logo, which features a partial cursive script and longleaf pine branches. No one is certain how long the current logo has been around or when it was last updated. It has served as the Southern Pines logo for at least two decades.

The rebranding is budgeted to cost $20,000. This is a portion of the approved $250,000 designated to updating the long-range plan — also contracted through City Explained. This budget was approved in June for the 2022-23 fiscal year.

Feedback from the council’s Monday’s meeting will be incorporated into the next rendition of the design, including further discussion through the long-range plan process.[…]

Voters in Southern Pines certainly have something else to truly contemplate prior the next round of local elections.