Council members of the combined city of East Carbon and Sunnyside decided on a new name at a meeting on Tuesday night. After much discussion and public comment, majority vote by the council designated the new city as East Carbon-Sunnyside.
Suggestions for the name of the city ranged from East Carbon, Sunnyside or Dragerton to completely new names that had no references to the aforementioned cities.
Public comments focused on the inconvenience of altering the city’s name completely due to changes that would need to be made legally. Wills, property licenses, checks, among others would need to be changed if a new city name was put into place. Along with those changes, the financial burden to alter documents would take a toll on many residents.
Residents also voiced their desire to name the city East Carbon-Sunnyside for historical and emotional reasons. Many residents have grown up in East Carbon-Sunnyside and want the name to be continued for generations to come.
Along with a name decided at the meeting, council members also started work on other changes that will be made now that the cities have combined. Mayor and council salaries, utility rates for citizens and employee insurance benefits were all decided at the meeting.