Parks and Rec holds Veterans Park renaming while committee reviews naming policy and process

At its Sept. 22, 2025, Parks and Rec meeting, members voted 3-0 to hold agenda item 25-0979, which addressed the process to rename Veterans Park, so the committee can review the city's park-naming policy and return with a clarified timeline and process.

The hold motion followed an earlier, withdrawn motion to approve the renaming process. A member moved that the item be sent back to the Parks and Rec committee "to reconsider the naming policy and along with that to update the process." Attorney Behrends said for clarity that a hold would mean the matter would be noticed at the subsequent meeting in one month "to review the park naming policy. And then also in conjunction with that, approve the renaming process." Director Ghazal told the committee the naming policy is reviewed regularly but said some council members wanted the policy revisited to consider criteria used by other communities: "It's my yes. We do, review it on a regular basis ... I think by holding this a month, we're able to update the agenda to make it very clear what the parks and rec committee is going after and make it very clear which documents are being updated and amended," Ghazal said.

Multiple members asked that two distinct items return to the committee: one to consider any amendments to the public-lands park-naming policy and a second to address the specific timeline and steps for the Veterans Park renaming. Alder Hartzheim said he would "be interested then as a fellow council member in seeing these 2 items as 2 separate action items. 1 for the naming of the parklands policy and the other for the timeline and process for Veterans Park renaming." Attorney Barrons recommended the chair work with the director to place two separate items on the next agenda.

The motion to hold the item for one month passed by voice vote; the chair recorded "Abstaining, this passes 3 to 0." The committee did not approve any renaming at the Sept. 22 meeting; the hold directs staff and the chair to return with the reviewed policy and a separate action item on the Veterans Park renaming process at the next meeting.

The committee's discussion centered on process clarity rather than selection of a new name. Members emphasized that separating policy changes from the specific renaming action would allow public notice and a clearer record of any policy amendments before a final decision on Veterans Park.

Looking ahead, the committee expects both items to be placed on the next Parks and Rec agenda for formal consideration and any required motions or votes.