The City Commission voted June 2 to designate areas within the Smoky Hill River renewal corridor as qualified municipal facilities under the city’s municipal naming guidelines. The action makes future naming initiatives eligible for the formal review process described in the city’s 2017 municipal naming resolution.

Jeff Hammond, director of parks and recreation, explained the resolution does not itself approve or assign names; it confirms the areas are eligible to follow the established naming process, which includes a public notice, advisory board review and a public hearing before the commission. The resolution also formalizes the first step that would allow external donors or organizations to submit naming applications for specific amenities adjacent to the riverway.

Jane Anderson of the Friends of the River Foundation told the commission the charity has been approached by potential donors and intends to begin a silent phase of fundraising for the river renewal project. Anderson said the group and staff have discussed likely categories of amenities that donors might support, and that the designation helps ensure transparent city oversight of naming requests and signage funding.

Why this matters: the designation helps the city and potential fundraising partners clarify how private donations for new amenities (benches, plazas, bridges, interpretive signage and the like) could be recognized while preserving city control of public property and public notice requirements. Hammond and Anderson said the policy does not convey exclusivity to any single organization; other groups may submit naming applications under the same municipal process.

Public comment included questions about whether the waterway itself could be renamed (staff said renaming the waterway itself is not the intent; naming rights would apply to city‑owned amenities adjacent to the river), and whether Friends of the River would receive proceeds from naming (staff said donations would be routed to city accounts to fund the specified amenities). The commission approved the resolution 4–0.