Califon, NJ – At the Tuesday September 1st Califon Borough Mayor & Council meeting, local officials and a few community members present welcomed the new municipal attorney, Ed Pasternack.
He soon received homework to do, as the Rec. Commission chairman brought forward correspondence resulting in a municipal policy need. The governing body discussion arose as Califon will have to form a policy with guidance on appropriate language for memorial plaques being sponsored to go on a few benches at Califon Island Park.
Nate Snyder, Rec. Commission chair, said there was consensus there has to be a policy for uniformity and examples of permitted language. There was a draft policy he presented, and Council has it for review, but there was a quick point that stood out.
Sign Up for FREE North Hunterdon Newsletter
Get local news you can trust in your inbox.
“The one thing we are seeking Council's direction on is regarding the memorial plaque language. We thought we had it outlined pretty well, but a person requesting (to pay for) a memorial plaque on a bench included a question about religious information going on the plaque. For example, I put in the memo to Council ‘In the loving memory of John Smith, a man of Jesus Christ, who devoted his life to serving others.’ We are trying to understand whether or not we (the Borough) should have religious language on the plaques or it should be fully separate. We then thought we should go to Council with it,” he said.
Snyder added that the direction the Rec. and Parks Commission was leaning was “to keep it commemorative to the person, and not go beyond.”
The initial comments from Mayor Charles Daniel about this were “I'd assume if you accommodated it for one, you would need to do it for all – and all could mean ANYTHING. If you walk down the (Columbia Trail), you would see the benches with words ‘Dedicated to’ or ‘In memory of’ with a little quote about the person. A number of the people may have done work on the Trail and that is why that spot was selected on the Trail. I am thinking I'd like to keep this non-religious."
Attorney Pasternack noted that he's dealt with the same issue or similar for a number of his municipal clients. “It's a policy decision, and if you take the highest, cleanest road and left religious stuff out you would have the best defendable position if somebody every tries to challenge it legally. What I can do if you would like, mayor, is review this and draft some highlights, in an email, of what should and should not be included so the Rec. Commission can take a look at it and maybe come back to Council with any adjustments on the policy draft. I was looking at something else where the benches are part of a policy for considering plaques going in town, such as an 'Adopt-a-Spot' use. The bottom line is whatever message you approve for one, you have to apply to all,,” he shared.
Pasternack said by the next day, September 2nd, he would send an email with the material outlined.
Snyder also told Council three benches at Califon Island Park are not in the memorial garden area by the pavilion, and the Rec. Commission has decided to not allow plaques on those. That leaves the other three benches to have members of the public approach with interests of a memorial plaque. The number of plaques allowed per bench was not specified, but more than one are accepted if the person wants to select just a plaque. Alternatively, the policy will allow for people to donate a new park bench with a plaque. Borough Administrator/Clerk Caitlin Haughney noted, “If someone decides to purchase a bench, the dedication plaque on that bench remains ONLY theirs.”
The Council meeting featured a little more discussion on the ideas for the memorials at the park, and Mayor Daniel raised a concern from seeing a few cases where nice benches in such a setting could be vandalized “or thrown in the river.” Snyder assured him that the benches would have to be stabilized to the ground.
“All the costs and everything are coming from the person(s) requesting this, along with an additional fee for Parks and Recreation," Snyder explained. He added that he will be doing all the labor involved with installing either the new plaques or benches going forward.
As the Council continued with questions, Pasternack advised, “What I really don't want is to create a policy that goes on for 5 pages – the less you say is better. The whole idea is we encourage them to sponsor the bench and put their (dedication) name on a plaque. You would also want to keep the policy tight to only allow for plaques of the same style, and containing the message that would be approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission," Snyder agreed. Councilman Jay Ruggiero checked with Pasternack that the policy draft would outline that the Parks and Rec. Commission are “the end-all, be-all” for plaque and/or bench applications and the wording they will contain.