[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Council of the Village of Ridgewood 7-19-2023 by Ord. No. 3960[1]. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance superseded former Ch. 127, Contributions, Gifts and Donations, Art. I, Gifts to Village Council, adopted 8-13-2008 by Ord. No. 3132, as amended 12-8-2010 by Ord. No. 3273.
[Adopted ]
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines and procedures for considering and receiving proposed donations of memorials and/or monuments to the Village of Ridgewood. Historically, the Village of Ridgewood has been enriched by the generous donations of individuals and entities in support of the Ridgewood community. Additionally, in the past, these requests have been reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, a written policy is needed to establish an approval process and technical standards as to the placement, size, and materials for such donations. The Village will review any such proposed donations for the purpose of assisting the donors in reaching their intended goals while recognizing the mission, goals, plans, resources, and limitations of the Village as a whole. It is intended that this policy provide a thoughtful review process which considers the intentions of the donor, is sensitive to the needs and desires of the community, and is sensitive to the costs associated with proposed gifts and donations, including long-term costs of maintenance and care. The Village encourages donations while at the same time must manage aesthetic impacts and mitigate ongoing maintenance costs.
All departments and staff of the Village of Ridgewood, all Village residents, and all potential donors are to adhere to the guidelines set forth in this policy.
This policy shall cover all donation(s) and gift(s) to the Village of Ridgewood and any of its departments or staff. The Village of Ridgewood retains sole discretion to determine whether to accept or decline any proposed donation, and if accepted, determine conditions or terms for any acceptance including, but not limited to, its location within the Village. This policy shall not be construed to create any right for any individual or organization to make any improvement or place any items on any public property within the Village of Ridgewood regardless of whether the proposal meets any or all of the criteria laid out herein. Notwithstanding the permanent nature of the donations contemplated by this policy, the Village of Ridgewood maintains continuing control and authority over the donations described herein, and reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to relocate, decommission, or remove entirely a previously authorized donation. The Village, with the assistance of its Parks and Recreation Department, may determine that a park has an adequate amount of dedicated benches, landscape features, and/or memorials, and is considered full.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
A long seat for several people, typically made using wood, metal, or stone, redeveloped, or reclaimed, using donor funds or bequests in commemoration of a person, event, or place as applicable.
Shall include the free and voluntary offering or presentation of any item(s) of substantial value proposed to be given or donated to the Village of Ridgewood including, but not limited to, endowments; public improvement projects or proposals; structures or portions of structures; money; materials; equipment; improvements to facilities or land; statues; monuments; memorials; tributes; sculptures; murals and other similar types of works of art; plaques; and graphics or signs.
A private individual, for-profit company, nonprofit organization, public agency or any other entity wishing to make a donation or gift to the Village of Ridgewood.
A physical object such as a plaque or sign placed to acknowledge a donation or gift.
Memorials that take the form of landscape features, such as water fountains or trees; any enhanced, redeveloped, or reclaimed areas of the Village that commemorate a person, group, or an event that occurred or may occur.
An item or object established to preserve the memory of a deceased person(s) or an event that occurred in the past. Any statue, sculpture, mural, item defined as donation(s)/gift(s) above or other structure or landscape feature designed to perpetuate in a permanent manner the memory of any person, group, event or other significant element of history.
Typical park improvements that contribute to the traditional use of park land such play structures, shelters, sports facilities, trails, etc.
Works of art including, but not limited to, paintings, prints, sculptures, and murals.
May include a funded, partially funded or unfunded capital project(s) request consisting of real property, structures, portions of structures, materials and/or equipment for construction or renovation of a structure or landscape feature. Maintenance activities such as weeding or replanting established gardens are not considered public improvement projects for purposes of this policy.
An item, object or gift designed to acknowledge the contributions of a living person(s) to a society. Projects recognizing groups such as persons with cancer or AIDS are also considered tributes.
A.
Any donor desiring to make a donation to the Village must do so by filing an application at the Village Clerk's Office. The application shall be reviewed by the Village Parks and Recreation Department, the Village Police Department, Village Engineering Department and any other Village department or office deemed necessary by the Village Manager. The Village Parks and Recreation Department may seek advice and/or recommendations from the Parks Recreation and Conservation Board in its review of the application. In review of the application, consideration may be given by Village staff as to the following criteria including, but not limited to:
(1)
Whether a park or other area requested by the applicant to be the location of the donation within the Village has an adequate amount of memorials, commemorative benches, trees, picnic tables and is considered full;
(2)
Memorials must be aesthetically complementary to the proposed location, its environment, theme and surroundings. Factors to consider regarding the location include, but are not limited to, the subject of the donation, the relevant theme of the park or location, and the Village plans for the proposed location.
B.
Any donor(s) wishing to make a donation are strongly encouraged to contact the Parks and Recreation Department at the earliest possible time to discuss the proposed gift and the process for review. Donors may select the type of donation from Parks and Recreation's list of prioritized donation options and locations.
C.
The Village of Ridgewood retains the right to determine whether to accept or decline any proposed gift or donation, and if accepted, its location within the Village, which decision shall be within the sole discretion of the Village Council.
(1)
Donation agreement form. Donors shall be required to complete and submit an application and a donation agreement form prepared by the Village Manager to have the donation considered. If needed by the applicant, the Parks and Recreation Department may be available to assist the donor with completion of the forms. The forms shall meet the approval of the Village Council and shall include, as appropriate and applicable, the intent of the proposal, cost estimates, size, proposed location, timeline, site drawing, future maintenance requirements and any other information the Village Council may deem necessary and/or useful. The completed forms shall be submitted to the identified Village departments for review and recommendation to the Village Council for approval.
(2)
Monetary gifts and donations/gifts and donations of negotiable securities.
(a)
Previously established funds or campaigns. Consideration of acceptance of any such donations must be reviewed by the Village Chief Financial Officer before same may be accepted by the Village Council.
(b)
Undesignated/unconditional monetary gifts/donations. Consideration of any such donation must be reviewed by the Village Chief Financial Officer before same may be accepted by the Village Council.
(c)
Conditioned donations. In the event that a monetary donation is conditioned or donated specifically for a project, memorial, work of public art, tribute, or new program, the Parks and Recreation Department shall assist the donor to complete a donation agreement form, and the donation shall follow the procedures set forth in this policy as if the donation were to be made of the actual program or item proposed to be acquired or constructed.
(3)
Gifts of real property. Any such gifts shall be reviewed and accepted in accordance with the New Jersey Local Lands and Buildings Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:12-1 et seq.
(4)
Nonmonetary donations (excluding real estate). The Village Council and/or department heads, upon approval of the Village Council, are hereby authorized to accept donations of materials or other items for previously approved/established/budgeted projects or materials or other items, provided such items have an estimated total value of $1,000 or less, and the donation is made without condition or restriction, and such items are typical for use in a Village department. If the estimated value exceeds this amount, or if the donation is made subject to conditions or restrictions, then the donor shall be required to satisfy the requirements of filing an application and a donor agreement form prior to the matter being referred to the Village Council for the Village Council's approval.
(5)
Criteria for evaluating donations. In order to assist potential donors to fulfill their desires to make a gift or donation to the Village of Ridgewood and to ensure that all gifts and donations are consistently, fairly, and thoughtfully reviewed, the Village will be guided in its review of proposed donations by the following guidelines.
(a)
Donations of public art, memorials, tributes, dedicated benches, landscape features, and public improvement projects, the following criteria shall be considered, as well as any other criteria which may be relevant on a case-by-case basis.
[1]
Consistency with the mission and policies governing the Village of Ridgewood and/or the Parks and Recreation Department.
[2]
Whether the proposed donation provides improvements to an area of the Village which may be deficient in public amenities.
[3]
Whether the proposed donation promotes the preservation of historical and cultural aspects of the community.
[4]
Whether the proposed donation has an educational component.
[5]
Whether the proposed donation helps to promote conservation, preservation and protection of the natural environment.
[6]
Whether the proposed donation helps to promote preservation of natural areas and green space where such preservation is suitable, is contemplated by plans, or is otherwise desirable.
[7]
Whether the proposed donation is suitable for the purpose proposed.
[8]
Whether the proposed donation is compatible with the proposed location, if one has been identified, and other users of the public space.
[9]
Whether the proposed donation contributes to, or detracts from, the aesthetic qualities of the surrounding area and other improvements.
[10]
Whether the proposed donation quality, scale and character is harmonious with the surrounding public or park setting.
[11]
Whether the proposed donation replaces aging, outdated or unsafe infrastructure or reuses, rehabilitates or restores an existing park or municipal feature.
[12]
Financial implications to the Village based on the cost of the proposed donations or project implementation including installation and ongoing maintenance if applicable and whether the gift/donation covers any anticipated costs.
[13]
Provision by the donor for ongoing maintenance and cost of relocation and removal, if necessary.
[14]
Susceptibility of the donation to wear and vandalism.
[15]
Whether any public safety of security issues are identified and the potential danger to the public health, safety or welfare associated with the proposed donation.
[16]
Whether the proposed donation complies with all applicable codes, including building codes and Americans with Disabilities Act, requirements, and related laws.
[17]
Whether the proposed donation is restricted in any manner and the impact of those restrictions or contingencies.
(6)
Works of art. In addition to the above-listed criteria, if the proposed donation is a work of art, more artfully described above, the following criteria shall be considered as well as any other criteria which may be relevant on a case-by-case basis.
(a)
Quality of the work based upon a professional assessment of the work, detailed written proposal, drawing or photographs.
(b)
Suitability of the theme of artwork to a public venue.
(c)
Appropriateness of the artwork to the site, in the case where a particular site has been requested or identified.
(d)
Appropriateness of the process for selecting the artist or artwork.
(e)
Qualifications of the artist based on documentation of past work and the artist's professional qualifications.
(7)
Memorials/tributes/naming. The Village respects the desire of individuals to commemorate special events or the lives of loved ones, living and deceased. However, the Village also recognizes that other community members who visit public places may desire not to be burdened with a constant reminder of mortality, death or traumatic events. The Village also recognizes the important contributions of many individuals to community life and that it is simply impossible to recognize all of those contributions. To that end, if the proposed gift/donation is a memorial or tribute or a noncommercial request to name a public space or other item, the Village shall consider the following criteria, as may be appropriate to the particular donation, in addition to those criteria identified above.
(a)
The proposed donation must represent a person or event deemed significant to the Village of Ridgewood's history; names of individuals who have made a significant contribution directly and locally to the Village shall be preferred over the names of national figures.
(b)
Whether any increased use of the park or public area resulting from the placement of the memorial tribute is appropriate to the surrounding context and uses.
(c)
When possible, the donor(s) and/or the family of the individual to be honored should be contacted and allowed an opportunity to comment upon the naming of a building, park or facility after an individual.
(d)
In and of themselves, contributions of land or money for public facilities shall not be considered sufficient justification for naming or renaming facilities after individuals, in tribute or memoriam.
(8)
Donor recognition objects. The Village of Ridgewood appreciates the desire of some donors to be recognized either personally or on behalf of another for their generous donations. If a donor recognition object is to be included as part of a proposed donation, such object should be specially identified and submitted with the donation for approval. In general, it is the policy of the Village to limit donor recognition objects to plaques or other recognition objects which are small in scale, which do not detract from green space areas and/or which are part of an approved project involving the use of personalized decorative tiles or pavers. Any such request shall be subject to Village Council approval as part of the acceptance of the donation offered.
(9)
Removal of donations and recognitions. The Village is not obligated to replace any donation if, after approval and placement, it is lost, stolen, damaged, or worn, and in its sole discretion, the Village will determine when the donated item is no longer reasonable to maintain. The Village also reserves the right to remove any donation or donation recognition object for any reason, which may include but not be limited to safety reasons, deterioration caused by age, neglect or vandalism, and/or the Village's inability to finance ongoing maintenance or repairs.
(10)
Acknowledgements and anonymity. All donations for which the donor does not request anonymity shall be acknowledged by the Village Council with a letter of appreciation. For a monetary gift given in memorial, tribute, bequest, or in recognition of someone, a letter shall be sent to the donor and may be sent to the person or family of the person being honored. The Village cannot guarantee anonymity of individual donors but will work with individuals who wish to remain anonymous in their donations to provide appropriate means for those individuals to make their donations while maintaining their privacy.
(11)
Appraisals. The Village may, at its discretion, request or require an appraisal or valuation of any donation offered prior to the acceptance of same.
(12)
Waiver of terms of this policy. The Village Council may waive any of the criteria specified within this policy upon a finding that it is in the best interests of the Village to do so. Any such waiver shall be done by resolution.
(13)
Tax liability. It is the responsibility of the donor to assign a monetary value to the gift for tax purposes. Information provided by the Village, its officials, employees or agents in connection with any donation(s) is intended to be informational only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial or legal advice or opinions. The Village of Ridgewood makes no representations or guarantees as the tax implications of any donation made to the Village. Donors are responsible and are advised to obtain their own tax and financial advice from appropriate professionals.
(14)
Reports to the Village Council. Annually, after the close of the fiscal year, the Treasurer may provide a report to the Village Council including the details of all donations with a value greater than $5,000.
The several sections of this ordinance are declared to be severable. If any section or portion thereof shall be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, such decision shall apply only to the specific section or portion thereof directly specified in the decision, and shall not affect the validity of any other provisions, sections or portions thereof of the ordinance. The remainder of the ordinance shall remain in full force and effect. Any other ordinances whose terms are in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed as to those terms that conflict.
