The Appleton Parks and Recreation Committee approved revisions to the Veterans Park renaming process that add explicit weight for neighborhood feedback in outreach and recommendation steps.

Alderman Ziegler moved the amendment to the renaming procedure, proposing that when an existing park is to be renamed the renaming committee should "weight neighborhood feedback" through a neighborhood outreach action because residents near the park may be disproportionately affected. "People have owned their homes there. I think that they should have, a way to provide their feedback in a way that, has a little more importance than the rest of us," Ziegler said.

The motion to add neighborhood-weighted outreach was seconded and adopted without recorded opposition; the committee voted 5–0 on the amendment. Committee members also discussed adjusting the timeline for outreach because the project timeline (originally slated to begin in August) had already slipped; Director Gazza said the process can be administered so that the outreach schedule is adjusted to match the date the Council approves the process.

Committee members noted the renaming of Veterans Park could attract attention from veterans' organizations beyond the immediate neighborhood and that staff will need to define the geographic bounds of "neighborhood" for outreach. Director Gazza said the park currently is used "very little" and that staff have no precise usage counts.

Outcome and next steps: The amended renaming process (with added neighborhood outreach weighting and recommended guideline language) passed 5–0 and will be forwarded to City Council. Staff were asked to update the timeline to reflect the later approval date and to coordinate outreach with the alder representing the district.

Ending: The committee approved the amended renaming process and directed staff to incorporate neighborhood outreach language into recommended naming guidelines before it goes to Council.