By Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press
Essex Council approved a new Sponsorships and Naming Rights Policy during the June 2 meeting.
This new policy will replace the former Naming Rights Policy – Municipal Parks and Facilities, which was adopted in 2010.
Nelson Silveira, Manager of Economic Development, explained updating the former policy was something identified in Council’s 2023-2027 Strategic Plan.
“What we are looking at doing is really formalizing how we manage the sponsorship and naming rights program for the Town, including our assets and events we put on as a corporation,” Silveira said.
The policy includes assets, like arenas, playgrounds, and fields, for naming right opportunities, in addition to sponsorships for Town programs and events.
It does not include facilities like Town Hall of Fire Halls that are mainly used for staff.
This will allow the Town to have a consistent approach to how these agreements are made, Silviera said.
The next steps, as outlined in the report, is for administration to look at different partnering opportunities with community organizations or businesses looking to sponsor town assets.
Annual oversight of those agreements is also important, Silveira noted. Any agreement over $130,000 in value for the term of the agreement would go before Council for approval, he added. Agreements beneath that threshold would be approved by the CAO, in consultation with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
In answering Councillor Rodney Hammond’s question on where sponsorship or naming right funding would be put towards, Silveira noted it would depend on the sponsorship. Typically, it would go towards operational costs if funding was for a program. Naming right funding would go towards that asset’s capital costs.
In answering Councillor Katie McGuire-Blais’s question if the Town has a list of assets that could be available to be named – from benches to community rooms – and what the costs would be, Silveira noted administration is currently working on a sponsorship package that would identify opportunities for naming rights for assets and events.
The Town is currently not looking to change the name of any thing; opportunities are being pursued for future buildings or current ones that do not have a name.
Council will be updated on the details of that package, Silveira added. The policy he put before Council identified what wouldn’t be open for sponsorship.
“My only concern is what are we naming and how much are we putting a price tag on it for,” McGuire-Blais said, adding she believed Council should have a say on that if it falls below the $130,000 threshold on bigger items.
CAO Kate Giurissevich noted the $130,000 threshold was selected as it is the same amount in the Town’s Procurement By-Law that would trigger the need to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP). The number was selected to not inundate Council with smaller requests. That figure is certainly up for discussion.
Within the document, Town administration recommends if it will be a material revenue source, it would go to RFP. Then it would be publicly posted and Council would be aware of the process.
In terms of what costs will be, Silveira noted every facility will be different and it will depend on negotiations with community groups or businesses.
The policy was not intended to leave Council out of the decision-making; it was meant to set parameters on having to go to Council with every request.
Councillor Kim Verbeek noted this policy is new, and believed Council should be part of the vetting process and suggested reports can come to Council noting what assets have applicants for naming rights.
Mayor Sherry Bondy was happy to see the policy come before Council as it has been on the to-do list for a while. This is an alternative funding source that could buffer tax increases in the future.
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