Kalispell City Council on Monday favored adopting a name change policy for city parks and other public facilities.  

Councilors weighed what criteria would be worthy of a name change, including whether renaming property after living people should be allowed and if a hefty donation could warrant one. 

Councilor Jed Fisher urged his colleagues to consider a policy for naming public facilities during a September meeting after Council voted to rename the Kidsports Complex in honor of Dan Johns, one of its founders.  

Fisher supported the athletic facility’s name change but said that in his 30 years directing the Flathead County Parks and Recreation Department, he routinely fielded requests from people hoping to see their names adorned on public property.  

“You want to be able to honor people that deserve to be honored, but you don’t want to create controversy through that process,” Assistant Development Services Director PJ Sorensen said on Monday.  

Councilor Chad Graham favored an example policy Sorensen brought up in which a donation covering 10 years of maintenance could be eligible for a name change. Graham said it could lighten the financial burden for the Parks and Recreation Department.  

Mayor Mark Johnson argued there should be more guardrails in place to avoid naming a park after someone who “came in after everyone else did all the work and then rolled a check and fixed the name.” 

Hunter agreed with Johnson, using an example of a donor giving money to maintain the forthcoming Ashley Creek Park, which was a gift to the city from the Bibler Family Trust. 

“If 20 years from now somebody donates a lot of money to spruce it up, I would not probably support naming it after that person,” he said. 

Councilor Sid Daoud said that renaming a park after a donor should be off the table. 

“I think it might buy you a plaque, but it shouldn’t be able to buy you a park,” he said.   

Daoud was also weary of naming a public facility after someone still living, “because you don’t know what the future is going to hold for that person. It’s kind of a dangerous prospect.”  

Council plans to hold more work sessions on the matter before adopting a policy.  

Council also gave the go ahead for interim City Manager Jarod Nygren to notify residents that the city will be accepting applications for the Ward 3 Council seat that will open once Hunter becomes mayor in January.  

The city has 30 days to fill the seat once it becomes vacant.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4406 and [email protected].