Directors discussing naming guidelines for township facilities, parks and trails

The Woodlands Township board of directors discussed several options regarding naming of facilities, parks and trails during its April 21 regular meeting. The board voted to have township staff come back with a combination of three options at a future meeting for final consideration.

The proposed policy included: recognizing individuals with a history of community service or contributions; commemorating deceased individuals who contributed services to the community or a facility’s best interests; or continuing to offer recognition through the existing Gifts for Our Community program.

The agenda item initially referred to the options as policies, which was a concern for several directors.

“I believe this is a slippery slope waiting for an explosion of some sort to occur later that we cannot anticipate,” township Director Jeff Long said. “I’m just not too thrilled with going down this path.”

Township Director Ann Snyder said naming decisions tend to be one of the most controversial items for any board to consider.

“If the township board believes there is someone in the community who needs to be recognized, we can do that,” she said. “I don’t think we need all of this to decide if we name it after a certain individual or not.”