POCATELLO — The city of Pocatello may soon have a new flag.

Logan McDougall, chairman of the Flag Design Ad-Hoc Committee, says the group plans to recommend the “MountainsLeft” flag for adoption during the city council’s study session on Thursday.

“If the Council gives the committee direction to adopt the flag, a resolution will be drafted and the council would vote on the resolution at regular meeting,” McDougall said.

The flag was chosen from among six finalists. McDougall said the community was given an opportunity to rate each of the final designs on a scale of 0.5 to 5 stars and the MountainsLeft flag received 683 5-star ratings.

He thinks the flag would be a fantastic symbol for the community.

“Contained in the design are nods to many, if not all the parts of Pocatello that make this community a great place to call home,” McDougall said.

The three central peaks in the flag represent not only the mountains in the area — Scout Mountain, Kinport Peak and Chinese Peak — but also industry, recreation and education, according to the flag’s description. The white peak on one of the mountains serves as an abstract arrow, acknowledging the area’s Native American history.

The compass rose symbolizes Pocatello’s role as a trade and transportation hub for rail, road and air, and each point represents a specific period in the city’s history, according to the flag’s description. The golden color is a nod to agriculture.

“The design conveys upward motion, signifying positive hope for the future,” according to the flag’s description. “The blue symbolizes the sky and blue line near the bottom of the flag symbolizes the Portneuf River.”

Pocatello received 1,869 responses on the final designs before the MountainsLeft flag was selected, McDougall said,

Still, not everyone approved of the final choices. In an online Journal poll, the vast majority of participants indicated that they would choose something aside from the final designs.

But McDougall hopes people will support the flag if it is adopted.

“Just like any piece of art or design, some will like it, others will not,” McDougall said. “But into the future, it’s my hope that the flag of Pocatello will be something that the community can rally around.”