City manager proposes honorarium policy to handle requests to rename streets; council to consider later
Loading...
Summary
City Manager Rosalind Oglesby presented a draft policy for honorary street naming after a resident petition to rename E Street for Bishop Stephen Douglas Willis Sr.; the proposed policy would create a five-year honorarium plaque option with a $400 fee and lay out petition and notice requirements for full renaming requests.
City Manager Rosalind Oglesby told the Franklin City Council on Jan. 13 she had drafted a policy to guide requests to rename streets or create honorary designations after the city received a resident petition to honor Bishop Stephen Douglas Willis Sr.
Oglesby said the city lacks a current code provision or comprehensive-plan language governing street renaming and that a memorandum from 2019 recommended adding a code chapter but no change was enacted. As an interim approach, she presented a draft honorarium policy that would permit an honorary plaque naming (rather than changing official street names) for persons or groups who have made a “significant impact” on the city. The draft policy would require a $400 fee to cover manufacturing and staff time and would make the honorarium effective for five years; the city would replace the plaque once if damaged and would require a new application and fee for subsequent terms.
Oglesby described the greater administrative burden of formally renaming a street — including notifying the U.S. Postal Service, updating mapping services and contacting property owners — and said renaming would require a petition of property owners and a formal code process. She noted that vacant parcels and absentee owners complicate petition processes. Oglesby provided examples from other localities and said the council could tweak the draft policy before taking action at a later meeting.
Council members asked clarifying questions about notification, petition thresholds and costs. The council did not vote on a final policy during the Jan. 13 meeting; Oglesby said she would return the draft for future consideration if the council did not request edits.
The specific request that prompted the discussion concerns E Street and a petition to honor Bishop Willis. The transcript shows the manager recommended the honorarium option as a lower-impact alternative to full renaming.
