[Adopted 2-25-2025 by Ord. No. 2025-O-14]
The City Council believes that the naming of public spaces and the installation of memorial objects in public spaces is a matter of substantial or significant public interest and deserves careful consideration, and the City Council will have sole authority for the naming of public spaces and installation of memorial objects in public spaces under the control of the City of Watertown.
(A) 
The City Council understands that such namings and memorials may have long-lasting effects and will span future generations, whose perceptions and values may change.
(B) 
The City Council intends to be cautious in exercising its authority to name public spaces or install memorial objects in public spaces.
There is hereby established a Memorialization Committee (the "Committee"), consisting of five voting members. The Committee is established to provide a systematic, consistent, and transparent approach for making recommendations to the City Council for the naming of all public spaces and the installation of all memorial objects in public spaces, except for veteran memorials and dedications. Veteran memorials and dedications are separately processed through the Veterans' Services Officer and approved by the City Council.
Public spaces include but are not limited to parks, playgrounds, and other open spaces; streets, squares, and intersections; and City buildings under the City Manager's jurisdiction. The Watertown Public Library building as well as buildings, structures, and facilities located on school property are excluded.
(A) 
Composition. The composition of the Committee and the appointment authority for the Committee members is as follows:
(1) 
City Manager or their designee.
(2) 
Representative member of the City Council as designated by the City Council President.
(3) 
Three residents of Watertown appointed by the City Manager, subject to City Council confirmation.
(B) 
Term. The appointed resident members first appointed shall have staggered terms, with one initially serving a one-year term and the remaining two each serving a two-year term. Thereafter, all appointments and reappointments for resident members shall be for a period of two years. Resident members may be reappointed for additional terms.
(C) 
Vacancy. Any vacancy in membership shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment.
(D) 
Qualifications. Resident members appointed by the City Manager should, when possible, have relevant experience and knowledge related to Watertown's diversity and local history.
(E) 
Any resident member who ceases to be a resident of Watertown shall promptly provide written notification of their change in residence to the Committee chair and to the City Clerk. The Committee member may serve as a hold-over until a successor is appointed.
(A) 
Meetings. The Committee shall meet as necessary. Notice of all meetings shall comply with the provisions of the Open Meeting Law, M.G.L. c. 30A, §§ 18 through 25, as may be amended. A majority of the members of the Committee constitutes a quorum. The committee shall keep a written record of its proceedings.
(B) 
Officers. At the first meeting of the Committee, and annually thereafter, the Committee shall elect one of its members to serve as chairperson and may elect such other officers, adopt procedural rules and regulations, and establish such subcommittees as it deems appropriate.
(A) 
The Committee shall review a matter involving memorialization upon referral by the City Manager or the City Council and develop a recommendation for the City Council.
(1) 
The Committee shall adopt policies and procedures for making such recommendations.
(a) 
The Committee shall allow for public participation in establishing those policies and procedures and in the Committee's review and recommendation process.
(b) 
The policies and procedures may include differing considerations depending on the memorialization matter the Committee is reviewing, as determined by the Committee; as an example, memorial trees may have a different threshold for consideration than the naming of a recreational facility.
(c) 
The Committee shall review and update its policies and procedures as necessary but shall strive to maintain consistency in its approach to memorialization.
(2) 
To the extent the Committee recommends naming public spaces in honor of specific individuals, the Committee shall consider the following:
(a) 
The public interest to be served by honoring the individual.
(b) 
The leadership role or distinguished service of the individual, considering the quality of contribution along with the length of service.
(c) 
The association the individual has with the proposed naming location.
(3) 
The Committee shall seek to honor those who represent the broad diversity of individuals who have contributed to the City.
(4) 
The Committee may recommend that the requestors for the installation of memorial objects in public spaces pay a reasonable fee to cover associated costs of the purchase, installation, and maintenance of the object.
(B) 
Recommendations made by the Committee are not binding and are subject to consideration by the City Council in their discretion.
The City Council has sole authority to remove or replace the naming of any public space or memorial object if, with the passage of time, it determines the public interest is no longer being served by such naming.