MAY 29, 2025 — Temple Terrace in Florida has officially ended its troubled city flag initiative, a yearlong effort originally intended to coincide with the city’s upcoming centennial celebration, on May 20, the Tampa Beacon reports.
The abrupt termination came during a contentious City Council meeting on May 20, when Mayor Andy Ross, visibly frustrated, handed the gavel to Vice Mayor Gil Schisler and made a motion to kill the project.
The motion passed, effectively ending an initiative that had been marred by delays, internal disagreements, and public backlash.
Council Member Erik Kravets faced pushback after requesting city email access for two non-staff assistants and proposing they serve as unpaid interns, both of which City Manager Carlos Baia rejected due to policy concerns. Amid confusion over the extent of Kravets’ independent actions, he defended his work on the flag project, insisting he was following the council’s directive and funding the effort himself.
The flag project began in March 2024 under former marketing director Joel Duarte. It aimed to solicit public designs in anticipation of the city’s 100th anniversary. Although over 40 submissions were received, none were deemed satisfactory by the selection committee.
Duarte later presented a composite design featuring local landmarks, but it was widely criticized. In a public poll conducted on the city’s website, nearly 69 percent of 384 respondents opposed the flag.
By February, Ross transferred responsibility for the project to Kravets, who held one public workshop and extended the timeline.
Ultimately, the council chose finality over further complication. “I motion to kill the project,” Ross said, concluding a chapter in Temple Terrace’s elusive search for a city flag.
Despite the original intent to unveil a design for the city’s centennial, Ross signaled his indifference to that goal.
“It’s a flag. We don’t even need a flag,” he had remarked earlier in the year. “I almost regret bringing the whole idea up. I should have left it alone.”
Image: Tampa Beacon
