Santa Clarita City Hall will not be named after one of the city’s founding fathers, but a portion of it will, following combined ideas and a vote by council members Tuesday.
After suggesting some ideas, the City Council agreed to the creation of an artwork in honor of Carl Boyer, who helped found the city Dec. 15, 1987. The artwork will be placed in the Century Room of the government building, which is frequently used for public and private meetings, events and more.
Boyer, who died at the age of 81 on May 29, was elected to the first City Council and served as a council member and twice as mayor until 1998. The discussion stems from a June 11 meeting, when Councilwoman Laurene Weste suggested the building be named Carl Boyer Santa Clarita City Hall.
Their decision Tuesday was not unanimous at first, however. The council members did not agree with Weste’s suggestion to name the building after Boyer, resulting in three other ideas and two motions in support of two of the three suggestions.
“I think City Hall belongs to all of us,” said Councilman Cameron Smyth, who reiterated that not naming the building after Boyer “doesn’t imply any disrespect or any lack of appreciation for all that he’s done.”
Mayor Marsha McLean suggested having an honor grove or honor plaza at City Hall and Weste proposed a public art display somewhere in Santa Clarita. Councilman Bill Miranda then encouraged the idea of renaming the Century Room after Boyer since the area is “in City Hall, it’s one of the biggest rooms; it’s one of the most-used rooms in City Hall.”
Both Miranda’s and Weste’s ideas were motioned and voted on. Miranda’s motion received a 3-2 vote and Weste’s a 5-0 tally. Despite some disagreements, such as the possibility of growing out of the current building or the question of where an art dedication would be placed, the City Council appeared to have combined both ideas to reach a consensus.
“The art thing got married to the wall of the Century Room, so, I mean, it’s kind of combining both motions into one thing. So, you would be honoring Carl Boyer with some kind of an art thing, and it’ll be attached to the Century Room and I really don’t see it as 3-2. I think we finally nailed it — everyone’s thoughts into one process,” said Weste.
The process for naming city facilities after other individuals was not discussed and was recommended for future discussion.
