(March 23, 2017) Berlin’s Naming Parks and Public Spaces Committee continued to work briskly toward a set of standards for the town at its meeting last Thursday, the second one to be one on the matter.
Members of the committee worked from naming criteria used by Baltimore and Bowie in Maryland, as well as Wake County in North Carolina and the state of Florida.
So far, the committee has preferred policies that omit the renaming of streets and municipal buildings, and those that give an edge to names of historical significance. Committee members have also favored public involvement in submitting names for consideration.
One of the things the committee has wrestled with is how to factor in major financial donors.
Bill Todd, who grew up in the area, said he was tired of seeing the same names pop up on buildings from Berlin to Ocean City.
“Everything is named after the same people – the same families are the only ones that are able to afford it. I’d hate to see that happen [in Berlin],” he said. “The ‘coolest small town in America’ should conduct themselves a little bit different than that.”
Todd has been an advocate for naming a public park after former mailman James Tingle.
“He did a service to the town. He was beloved. That means something,” he said. “It’s not just about how much money you want to drop … I like the plaque in the park, I like dedicating a bench, but I am adamantly against a complete financial contribution to get a name on something.”
Councilman Dean Burrell took a slightly different tack.
“Living in the real world, we have to give some type of consideration for those folks that put the dollars up,” he said. “I don’t think we can say that should not be a consideration because it should be a consideration.”
Some corporate or large family donations have led to public spaces being named in their honor, but not directly for them. Councilman Zack Tyndall noted that a donation by the Phillips family led to the naming of Stephen Decatur Park.
“Just because there are some that want their name on the side of the building, it doesn’t mean that everybody’s that way,” Tyndall said.
Tyndall and Town Administrator Laura Allen will take suggestions from the committee and work with the documents they studied to create a draft set of standards. That will be emailed to the other members of the committee and discussed publically during the next meeting, April 13 at 5:30 p.m. at town hall.
The Berlin Town Council must approve the finalized recommendations of the committee.
Members of the committee worked from naming criteria used by Baltimore and Bowie in Maryland, as well as Wake County in North Carolina and the state of Florida.
So far, the committee has preferred policies that omit the renaming of streets and municipal buildings, and those that give an edge to names of historical significance. Committee members have also favored public involvement in submitting names for consideration.
One of the things the committee has wrestled with is how to factor in major financial donors.
Bill Todd, who grew up in the area, said he was tired of seeing the same names pop up on buildings from Berlin to Ocean City.
“Everything is named after the same people – the same families are the only ones that are able to afford it. I’d hate to see that happen [in Berlin],” he said. “The ‘coolest small town in America’ should conduct themselves a little bit different than that.”
Todd has been an advocate for naming a public park after former mailman James Tingle.
“He did a service to the town. He was beloved. That means something,” he said. “It’s not just about how much money you want to drop … I like the plaque in the park, I like dedicating a bench, but I am adamantly against a complete financial contribution to get a name on something.”
Councilman Dean Burrell took a slightly different tack.
“Living in the real world, we have to give some type of consideration for those folks that put the dollars up,” he said. “I don’t think we can say that should not be a consideration because it should be a consideration.”
Some corporate or large family donations have led to public spaces being named in their honor, but not directly for them. Councilman Zack Tyndall noted that a donation by the Phillips family led to the naming of Stephen Decatur Park.
“Just because there are some that want their name on the side of the building, it doesn’t mean that everybody’s that way,” Tyndall said.
Tyndall and Town Administrator Laura Allen will take suggestions from the committee and work with the documents they studied to create a draft set of standards. That will be emailed to the other members of the committee and discussed publically during the next meeting, April 13 at 5:30 p.m. at town hall.
The Berlin Town Council must approve the finalized recommendations of the committee.