HOLDEN — After extensive discussion and many revisions, the town has a building naming policy.
Adopted at the Aug. 21 Board of Selectmen’s meeting, the policy details the criteria for honoring a person by naming a town building after them.
The effort began after a proposal to name the senior center was brought forward by the Council on Aging, which sought to name the building after a former director.
Selectmen at that time wanted to develop a process that would ensure a name applied to a building would be one worthy of recognition over time.
The board members agreed that anyone honored should meet at least one of several criteria, but must meet a key one: “The honoree must meet compelling and exceptional facts that justify permanent recognition and at least one other,” Chair Stephanie Mulroy said.
The board also added an eighth criterion that requires a three-year wait before a person can be reconsidered for such an honor if they are proposed and fail.
Selectman Anthony Renzoni noted that that way, a person could not be nominated repeatedly for different buildings.
The board members agreed on the policy, noting that the process should be difficult.
“The purpose is to keep a building name that is almost sacred,” Mulroy said. “The vetting will be important.”
“It should be almost impossible; you have to do a lot to get a building named after you,” Renzoni said. “It should come up infrequently.”
“I know all the folks on the COA will be happy to hear there’s a policy,” Mulroy said.
