TO:Andrew P. Powers, City Manager
FROM:Jonathan Serret, Cultural and Community Services Director DATE:April 29, 2025
SUBJECT: City Council Naming Recognition Follow-up
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Authorize City Manager to enter into an agreement with Ventura County Community Foundation (VCCF) to establish a scholarship.
2. Establish a name for the scholarship.
3. Approve Budget Appropriation and Expenditure in the amount of $26,020 from A/C #001-0000-311-1000 (General Fund, Fund Balance) to A/C #001-0970-646- 5920.
4. Find that this action is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act.
LEVINE ACT ITEM: No
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
$26,020 Increase to FY 2024-25 General Fund Budget. A $26,020 increase is requested to the Adopted FY 2024-25 General Fund Budget to enter into an agreement with VCCF to establish a scholarship program.
BACKGROUND:
On February 25, 2025, City Council was presented with and discussed existing policies related to the recognition of community members. Those policies include:
1. City Council Chamber seat dedications
2. Arts-Based Philanthropic Naming
3. Ceremonial Recognition
4. Street Naming
City Council Naming Recognition Follow-up
April 29, 2025
On rare occasions, City Council has recognized individuals outside of these policies on an ad-hoc basis. Historically, these recognitions have been made at the pleasure of City Council, after being brought forward by an individual councilmember and without specific, objective guidelines or criteria. At the February 25, 2025, City Council meeting, City Council discussed the potential of creating a named scholarship as an additional means of recognizing individuals.
City Council directed staff to work with VCCF to research the requirements of establishing a scholarship and to provide recommended guidelines for ad-hoc recognition of community members.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Ad-Hoc Naming Recognition
In researching policies with other cities in Ventura County and throughout California, many have ceremonial recognition programs similar to Thousand Oaks’, such as certificates, plaques, keys to the city, or other unique items that may be specific to each respective city.
No policies were found that contain criteria or guidelines for recognizing an individual without a defined asset, such as a building or facility. The criteria for naming policies vary widely, but there are some common themes:
1. A new building, park, or other asset that the city is looking to name triggers the policy.
2. Geographic, botanical, or other natural features associated with the site are considered along with people of historical or cultural significance. Monetary contribution or donation of property may also warrant naming recognition.
3. The public may submit written suggestions to individual councilmembers, City Clerk, or City Manager’s Office with the full City Council making the final decision.
Many cities require that a person be deceased for at least one year to be eligible for facility naming recognition. In recent experience in Thousand Oaks, named assets have been for living individuals.
4. Most cities do not have specific criteria that qualifies an individual for recognition.
A commonly used example is “City-owned land, buildings, and facilities may be named in honor of persons who have served the nation, the State of California, and or the City in an exceptional and distinguished manner; and where such action is warranted by a contribution of service, which is deemed to be of major significance.”
5. Some cities have combined policies for street and facility naming.
6. Most policies allow for City Council to make exceptions to their policy.
City Council Naming Recognition Follow-up
April 29, 2025
Staff’s research on other cities’ naming policies does not provide the type of specific criteria for qualifying an individual for naming recognition that City Council was seeking to establish. Additionally, these policies are intended to be used when the City has an asset they wish to name or rename. In recent experience in Thousand Oaks, City Council had an individual they wanted to recognize, but there was not an established asset prior to the recognition request. The City has several established recognition policies, as previously identified. The ad-hoc approach to additional recognition has been the exception to these policies and provides the City Council with the flexibility to recognize individuals on a case-by-case basis.
Staff recommends that City Council continue with this practice rather than create an additional policy.
Scholarship
VCCF offers their services to administer scholarship programs. The minimum contribution for an endowed scholarship is $25,000, and a 1.5 percent fee is assessed each year on the annual scholarship amount. This endowed scholarship would provide an annual scholarship of about $1,000 and in perpetuity based on the earnings. VCCF works with the donor to establish the scholarship, advertise to students, and has a volunteer committee to rate and select the recipients based on the criteria set forth by the donor.
To establish a scholarship with VCCF, City Council is required to:
a. Approve the establishment and funding of the scholarship. b. Provide the name of the scholarship.
There is a wide range of criteria that can be considered for selecting the scholarship recipients. Those criteria include, but are not limited to:
a. Geographic restrictions – Applicants may be limited to only Thousand Oaks residents.
b. School eligibility – Applicants may be required to attend a local high school. c. GPA requirement.
d. Demonstration of financial need.
e. Specific major.
City Council Naming Recognition Follow-up
April 29, 2025
City Council may elect to determine the scholarship criteria themselves, or may decide to direct staff to collaborate with the person for whom the scholarship is named or, if deceased, their family. The latter would provide the opportunity to customize the scholarship to better reflect the desires of the person for whom it is named. This can be completed after the scholarship agreement is executed.
Typically, funds must be invested for 12 months prior to being available for funding.
If City Council would like the first scholarship to be awarded to students for use in the 2026-27 school year, an additional $1,020 funding is required to cover the $1,000 scholarship and administrative fee. Additionally, the agreement and donation would be due to VCCF by July 1, 2025. Without these two elements, the first scholarship recipients would receive funding for the 2027-28 school year. This additional amount has been included in the staff recommendation.
To move forward with the scholarship, City Council must approve the establishment of the scholarship by authorizing the City Manager to enter into an agreement with VCCF, along with the approval of funding. Additionally, the name of the scholarship is required to initiate the agreement.
COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE:
Meets the following City Council goal:
B. Provide municipal government leadership which is open and responsive to residents, and is characterized by ethical behavior, stability, promoting public trust, transparency, confidence in the future, and cooperative interaction among civic leaders, residents, business representatives, and staff, while recognizing and respecting legitimate differences of opinion on critical issues facing the City.
PREPARED BY: Melissa Hurtado, Deputy Cultural and Community Services Director
ccs:100-20/L:\Common\Community Services\City Council Items\2025 Staff Reports\04292025 Naming Recognition.docx