Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Field Renaming topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Select Board sends proposal to rename Booth Two to town meeting after debate over vetting and significance
Summary
Recreation asked to rename Booth Two after two longtime coaches; Select Board members expressed concerns about vetting, criteria for 'significant contribution,' public notice and family consultation and voted to place the warrant article on the special town meeting for citizens to decide.
Recreation board members asked the Select Board to place on the special town meeting warrant a proposal to rename Booth Two as the Janetti–Bernstein field in honor of two longtime local coaches. Supporters said both men coached youth sports for years and left enduring legacies; one speaker called the naming a “fitting tribute.”
“There was a 60-day open comment period,” a Recreation representative said, describing the process that led to the recommendation. Brendan Schander, who grew up playing for the coaches, told the board, “I just think it would be a fitting tribute to two men who gave a lot to this town and the Youth of this town.”
Several Select Board members pushed back, citing the town’s 2021 naming policy and asking for clearer documentation of the nominees’ years of service, broader public notice and consultation with the Booth family. A board member who helped oversee earlier field-naming said the school-committee process used for Jack Martinelli required letters, testimony and an established vetting standard; that member said the current nominations were not clearly at that level of documented contribution.
Board members suggested alternatives such as dugout plaques, benches or a shared plaque on Booth One rather than naming an entire field; they also recommended additional outreach and vetting. Recreation said it had followed the written policy, held a public comment period, and that baseball and recreation boards had approved the recommendation.
The Select Board then voted to place the naming warrant article on the special town meeting warrant so town meeting members can debate and vote on the proposal. Recreation and board members indicated the matter could return in a different form (for instance, plaques rather than a field name) if the town meeting or future discussion requires it.
The board’s action moves the issue from a Recreation recommendation to the town meeting process, where voters will have the opportunity to amend or approve the proposal.
