DATE: March 18, 2019
TO: Board of Mayor and Aldermen
FROM: Eric Stuckey, City Administrator
Mark Hilty, Assistant City Administrator - Public Works
Milissa Reierson, Communications Manager
Michelle Hatcher, Water Management Director
Lisa Clayton, Parks Director
SUBJECT:
title
Discussion regarding the development of a theme and potential name for the Southeast Municipal Complex/Robinson Lake property.
body
Purpose
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide information to the Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BOMA) concerning the objective to develop a theme for the new site with soliciting the help from the Youth Leadership Franklin organization. In this task, members of Youth Leadership worked with City staff from multiple departments to develop a survey and strategy for the project.
Background
As described in the 2017 Comprehensive Master Plan for the Southeast Municipal Complex, the site would include football fields, lacrosse fields, concessions, restroom, walking trails, a splash pad, an inclusive playground and much more. The Southeast Municipal Complex will also be a Community Park to serve neighborhoods in this area. The property could be the home to two very important, and very different uses. Due to the park’s large size, visibility from I -65, and accessible location, it has the potential to become an iconic and signature destination in Franklin.
As part of the scope of the master plan, names were discussed but a clear consensus did not develop. Therefore, the City staff approached Youth Leadership Franklin with the possibility of surveying the community and, especially, their peers (local young people) to have a hand in naming a park. Since early January, the team worked to identify multiple themes to concentrate on narrowing a future name. The master plan assisted everyone in identifying any historical significance for the site, location, uses and potentially how the brand would be communicated to end-users. Included in the discussion was the Robinson Lake property. Staff views both properties as one with sub-names being considered dependent upon which location a park user may be within the over 230-acres.
City staff along with Youth Leadership Franklin worked together to create a survey to poll citizens of Franklin and school peers of the Youth Leadership team. The survey included several themes including historic, nature, creative, sustainability, notable citizen, and naming rights. The survey was completed by 439 citizens and 88 youth.
Financial Impact
There is no financial impact for this community driven project.
Recommendation
rec
Staff recommends continuing with the second survey which the City Team and Youth Leadership Franklin will send to the community via social media outlets. The goal will be to choose the top 3-5 names and bring forth to the Board of Mayor and Alderman for further consideration.