The Appleton Parks and Recreation Committee voted 3-2 to adopt an amended park-naming policy that adds a classification list intended to guide future park-naming and renaming decisions.

The vote on agenda item 25-1331 ended a long discussion about how prescriptive the city’s naming policy should be. Committee members said the council had asked for more specificity; supporters of the amendment said classifications would give staff and the naming committee clearer guardrails, while opponents said the change risked complicating a policy last substantively revised in 1997.

Director Gaza, Parks and Recreation director, told the committee the department had reviewed the 1997 policy over time and had not previously recommended wholesale edits, saying the department was “very comfortable” with the existing approach and that naming a park is uncommon and typically requires a “deep dive” into land history and local significance. Alder Van Zeland moved to add prioritized classifications and examples; the amendment substituted a 1–7 classification list into the existing document.

Supporters said the classifications would bring clarity and allow inclusion of historically underrepresented groups and “great ideas or causes.” Opponents including Alder Hartheim and Alder Smith said the proposal was overly complex, risked redundancy with the existing six-item list and could create confusion for staff and council when enacted. Attorney Glatt clarified committee procedure and confirmed the committee would forward the amended document to common council as the committee’s intent.

The committee also debated the mechanics of the motion — several members said the record briefly reflected confusion about whether the substitution or an amendment to the amendment was before the body — but the final tally recorded on the agenda was 3 in favor, 2 opposed. After the substitute passed, the committee proceeded with the item as amended and sent the revised naming policy to common council for final consideration.

The action does not itself rename parks; it changes the criteria the department and a future renaming committee will use when evaluating proposals. Several members urged staff to prepare a clear, consolidated text to avoid redundancy and asked that the department present the final draft in a form that the council can review without multiple iterations.

Looking ahead, several committee members said the city will still rely on the naming committee and public input for individual park proposals, with the amended policy providing a framework rather than a definitive set of names.