Back to Naming Policy Development Committee Meeting Minutes
November 10, 2009, Hingham Town Hall
Present:
James Costello, Philip Edmundson, Alexander Macmillan, Jane Malme, Edward Siegfried
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 pm by Chairman Jim Costello.
The members of the Committee introduced themselves to the members of the public present.
The minutes of the previous meeting on October 14, 2009 were approved.
The Chairman summarized the Selectman’s charge to the Committee. Jane Malme noted that the Selectman’s charge and the Committee’s agendas and approved minutes are posted on the Town of Hingham’s website under the name of the Committee. Alex Macmillan asked whether there was a way for the public to make comments on the website. Jane Malme will look into this.
The Chairman invited comments from the public.
Andy Mooradian, a member of the Hingham Advisory Committee, said that he has noticed memorial plaques on school facilities and recreation fields, and inquired whether there was a policy in regard to such memorials, and whether the Committee planned to consider these in its recommendations.
Phil Edmundson and Alex Macmillan mentioned the great variety of named objects, including plaques, signs, benches, bricks that they had observed throughout the town in school and town buildings, athletic and recreation fields, parks, and the downtown and harbor areas, in their efforts to understand what had been named. They recognized a special sensitivity needed in considering memorials, and the wide range of naming opportunities that the Committee is charged with considering
Barbara Hood, who grew up in Hingham and resides on Central Street, expressed strong concern about efforts to re-name recreation fields and buildings in recent years, and asked the Committee to address the importance of preserving names that have long been a part of the town’s heritage and history. The duration and permanency of names on land and buildings is included in a number of public and academic naming policies, according to Jane Malme.
A general discussion followed in which Phil Edmundson reviewed in greater detail the numerous named objects he observed in gathering information for the committee on named property in Hingham, including DPW facilities, South Shore Country Club, Bare Cove Park, Hingham Harborside, school sports facilities, and town recreation fields, conservation areas, and traffic Islands. These include plaques, engraved stones, and signs of various designs and sizes in memory of deceased residents, students, teachers, and veterans, or in recognition of others, living or dead, for their service to the town. In many cases, it is unclear what town committee or official was involved in arranging for the named object. In addition, naming opportunities have been provided as a part of private fundraising, a prominent example being the Hingham Public Library. Issues raised in this latter category included a policy that naming not being a condition for the Town accepting a gift or purchasing property.
Ed Siegfried provided copies of by-laws or policy statements from other Massachusetts towns, including Brookline, Concord, Danvers, Dennis, Harwich, Lexington, Needham, Northborough, Reading, Sharon, and Westford to be reviewed by the Committee. He reported that he had visited the town halls of Norwell, Cohasset, Scituate and Hanover, and it appeared that none of these neighboring towns has any sort of town-wide naming policies, with the exception of Scituate where the school committee approved a policy this past June that deals with memorializing students and staff in the Scituate Schools who have died. The policy limits permanent displays to endowments and scholarships, limits temporary displays to between 7-10 days, and called for the town to establish a community-based site for other displays.
The discussion turned to the questions that the Committee must answer in order to arrive at decisions about the policy, process, and criteria for naming the different types of opportunities for public recognition, from plaques to buildings. Phil Edmundson offered to organize a framework for discussion of these questions at the next meeting of the Committee. Ed Siegfried will organize by-law provisions from other communities for comparative analysis. Alex Macmillan suggested that there should be a statement of purpose, and offered to develop a draft for discussion.
The Chairman adjourned the meeting at 8:50 p.m.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday, November 24th, at 7:30 pm in the Hingham Town Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Jane Malme, Clerk.