City Council Meeting Date: May 2, 2017
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator
From: Tim Behrendt, Streets and Parks Manager
Title
Consideration of Meadows Park Naming Process.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council approves a motion to approve the Meadows Park naming process.
Summary Report:
The City acquired property for Meadows Park through a tax forfeiture process of Fargaze Meadows Development. The park went through a master planning process and the Park Master Plan was adopted in 2015. The master planning process essentially used part of the development name Meadows Park for the planning process, however the park has never officially received a name.
Part of the discussion when the master plan was adopted, was to have the park officially named. The City does not have an official park naming policy, so staff has put together a suggested process for naming the park. The process was reviewed at the Park and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) meeting on April 20, 2017 and a process was recommended for approval with only one addition - to allow Northfield schools the opportunity to participate.
The park will be named with the following guidelines that provide a sense of community:
1. Geographical location of the park
2. Outstanding features of the park (hill, river, grassland, woods)
3. Historic significance of the area or features, event, person (non-living), group, culture, or place.
4. An individual (non-living) who provided exceptional service in the interest of the park system.
Staff is proposing the following process:
1. Staff will create an online poll through the City’s website where residents, community leaders, businesses, and organizations can propose a park name. In addition to online polling, staff will provide ballot boxes at the Senior Center and Library where names can be entered and will also engage students at the local schools to participate in naming the park.
2. The Streets and Parks Manager will collect the names and forward them onto the PRAB. The PRAB shall select their top three names for the park and make a recommendation on the preferred name.
3. The Streets and Parks Manager will provide City Council with the preferred name and ask for a formal resolution naming the park.
Alternative Options:
Council could recommend that the name remain as “Meadows Park.”
Financial Impacts:
None
Tentative Timelines:
Suggested Names for the Park will be taken until the end of July 2017. PRAB review and recommendation will occur in August, with tentative Council action in September 2017.