Council discusses naming rights policy

Danielle Ryan

(8/24) Mayor Kinniard and the Board of Commissioners discussed a naming rights policy and composed a draft of the policy at the August 23 Town meeting. Mayor Kinniard mentioned that he has had many residents inquire about naming athletic fields and other areas in town after particular individuals either in honor of their service to the community or in memoriam of the individual.

Some residents have inquired about potentially having the ability to name a field after someone if they were to pay for it. The Board agreed that it would be preferential for residents not to have to pay to have something named, as that can sometimes become a little messy. Also, the town doesn’t have the capability to name everything after someone in particular, as there just are not enough facilities. Instead, the Board thought it would be best to have names on fields after those who have served the community for a given amount of time. Mayor Kinniard decided that it would be best to set a policy on the naming of fields, structures etc., as one does not yet exist to cover it.

The Board discussed several guidelines to be considered, parameters to be followed and met in order to have a name placed on an athletic field or structure such as a pavilion.

Firstly, a benchmark of 25 years of service to the community would be considered. The Board decided that naming would be for philanthropic reasons, as someone who has served the community and had an impact on the community would honorably deserve that recognition. Naming would be reserved for athletic fields, pavilions and structures within park areas, excluding Memorial Park.

Secondly, there would be no monetary contribution. Fields and structures would only be named in honor of someone who has had an impact on the town and has served the community for an extended period of time.

Thirdly, the town would erect a basic sign dedicating the field or structure to someone. If someone was looking for something more than that, such as a score board on one of the fields for instance, said person would be responsible for raising the additional funds.

These guidelines are only very basically drafted, and no decision was made at the meeting. The completed draft policy will be brought back to the Board at a future meeting to be discussed further, and comments concerning the proposed guidelines are welcomed.