Policy for Naming Public Facilities

Purpose:  To discuss options for amending the City's public facilities naming policy.

Background:  In 1991, City staff was requested to have the south portion of River's Bend Park renamed, and at that time, it came to light that the City did not have a formal public facility naming policy.  A policy was drafted and presented to the Park and Recreation Commission for discussion and comment.  The Park and Recreation Commission approved that policy and recommended the City Council review same and adopt.  On June 11, 1991, the City Council adopted Resolution #91-06-138 formally adopting the Park and Recreation Commission's Public Facility Naming Policy.  That Resolution/Policy is attached for Council information.  The resolution states "that all proposed public facility names shall first go before the Park and Recreation Commission.  In the case of parklands, the name shall be chosen before final plat approval and will generally reflect the name of the subdivision or other significant geographical feature.  Any sign bearing the name of a public facility will be in accordance with City Code requirements for signs, and facility names other than those of the subdivision that contains them will be brought before the City Council for approval".

In 2009, a case went before the Park and Recreation Commission to discuss a policy for accepting park donations, monuments, memorials, and other improvements.  The Commission sent such policy for adoption to the City Council.  Resolution #09-04-075 formally adopted the policy for accepting park donations, monuments, memorials and other improvements and that action was taken by the City Council on April 14, 2009.  The resolution/policy referenced donations with regard to naming rights.  That resolution is also attached for Council information.  It states the following:  "If a financial contribution exceeding 60% of the cost of major planned improvements is made, naming rights for new parks and recreational facilities may be granted through City Council approval".   Attached as additional information relating to the research in drafting that policy is a summary of memorial policies adopted by other cities. 

In 2014, the Park and Recreation Commission (P&R) again looked at the policy for naming public facilities.  The Elmcrest Park facility was nearing completion and a suggestion had been made that it could be dedicated in some manner, or have some element of it dedicated to former leadership of the Northern Lights Soccer Program.  The P&R Commission reviewed a couple of policies of other municipalities, including one from the City of Champlin.  That policy is attached to this case for Council information.  Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Mark Riverblood presented the case to the Commission and asked for input on other sample policies he presented.  Consensus of the Commission was to direct staff to develop a naming rights policy using the policy from the City of Champlin as a starting point, but using an application process rather than a petition process; to include a threshold for donations of more than half or 60 percent; language specifying that the request would go before the City Council but that approval is not guaranteed.  A draft document was not completed nor brought to Council.

At a Park and Recreation Commission meeting in November 2016, the 2017 - 2026 Parks Five-Year Capital Improvements Plan was discussed.  A question was raised about the Elmcrest and Draw entrance signage and whether there had been a discussion about honoring veterans or others.  Mr. Riverblood stated that the public naming policy would be followed.  The naming would be reviewed with the City Council and any ideas from the Commissioners could be explored.  It appears this subject has not been discussed again since then and that the reference to the policy would have been the one adopted by Resolution #91-06-138.

This past week, staff emailed the League of Minnesota Cities to inquire about any model policies relating to naming public facilities.  Staff was informed that the League has not created a model policy establishing criteria for naming facilities but they did have some sample policies from cities in other states, which they sent.  Those policies are included for Council information as well. They include policies from West Linn, Oregon, Mount Pleasant Michigan and Pinellas County.  Note, that naming policies could include park and recreation facilities, streets, bridges, wetland/open space areas, civic buildings or facilities (e.g. auditorium or community room), or other places within the City. 

Staff would like to receive direction from Council whether or not the current policy(ies) for naming public facilities is sufficient to act upon requests for naming public facilities/parkland or if Council would prefer a new policy be drafted combining the previous direction from the Park and Recreation Commission and the information received from other cities.  If the thought is to combine information to draft a new policy, staff would appreciate feedback on which components the Council would like to include in such a policy.

OR

Council may simply direct staff to work on combining the information received and draft a policy to bring back for comment and approval.