STERLING – Sterling’s Riverfront Commission met with members of the Sterling City Council this week to discuss the commission’s progress and recommendations on how the council could proceed with naming rights for its new riverfront park.

The commission has created The Sterling Riverfront Foundation, a 501(c)(3) focused on securing funding for Phases two and three of the riverfront park development at the former Northwestern Steel and Wire Mill site. The commission has already landed $2.75 million in commitments from potential donors. That is enough to cover the $2.42 million projected cost for Phase 2.

Now the commission is asking the council to decide how to proceed with naming rights for the park, its buildings and amenities before the commission’s community interest event, Riverfront Update, on Monday, Sept. 23, when in partnership with the Sauk Valley Area Chamber of Commerce, they will present member businesses with progress on the riverfront development and opportunities to be a part of its revitalization. The commission plans to hold community presentations following the groundbreaking of Phase One later this fall.

“We’re at a point where we need the city’s blessing to go forward with every one of the groups that we presented to,” Riverfront Commission Co-Chairman Marc Geil said. “When we talked about the different naming conventions, the one thing that we made clear is this is a city investment. The city is committed to maintaining this in perpetuity. Ultimately, the final call on any naming rights would be the city’s.”

Commission recommendations

• Donations of $2 million or more: Naming rights to the riverfront park.
• Donations of $1 million to $1,999,999: Naming rights to the pavilion and amphitheater, conditional on the donor’s level of commitment.

Donations less than $1 million would grant naming rights on the following amenities and features within the park:

• Pavilion building: $1.4 million (The amphitheater could be split off)
• Parking area and plaza: $790,000
• Playground: $720,000
• Ice ribbon, including the Zamboni: $590,000
• Pavilion plaza: $400,000
• Splash pad: $275,000
• Veterans’ memorial: $100,000
• Paddle craft launch: $50,000

Additionally, individuals, families and organizations can donate for the naming rights to site furnishings. Those projected costs come from the site designer:

• Bike rack: $750
• Backless bench: $1,850
• Contoured bench: $2,500
• Center post table (two benches): $4,000
• Center post table (three seats): $4,500
• Center post table (four seats): $5,250
• Solar canopy table: $10,000

There are 11 additional contribution levels, and most donations are paid on a multi-year commitment basis. All contributions are tax deductible and will be used exclusively for the specific item or project the donor supports. The commission has also proposed installing a designer piece on the west side of the pavilion to acknowledge all donations, whether they are associated with naming rights or are just general contributions.

What’s in a name?

Each naming suggestion would require a resolution the City Council would have to vote on. City Attorney Tim Zollinger said the city will need to consider more than donation size when making decisions.

“Typically, when a municipality looks at naming rights, particularly in perpetuity, certain guidelines are followed in terms of what is that person’s tie to the community,” Zollinger said. “How do they reflect the community’s values? I mean, it’s important to raise the money. That’s wonderful. It’s also important to respect their connection to the community.”

Alderman Jim Wise added his expectations.

“Knowing this is a former historical legacy industrial site of which various cultures and ethnicities had a great hand in creating over the last 150 years, any naming of that area should be appropriate to that and would be the expectation,” Wise said. “I’m not keen on saying it’s one person’s name. It has to be something that the community shares.”

Bidding concerns

Bidding advertisements for the project began Aug. 14, with open bidding starting Sept. 4. The City Council will award the bid Sept. 16, provided it finds an acceptable bid. If one is awarded, the city plans a tentative groundbreaking Oct. 1. However, Mayor Diana Merdian expressed concerns over bidding transparency and emphasized the groundbreaking date is tentative.

“My concern is the bids haven’t closed,” Merdian said. “The contractors usually want to be there. I have unions calling me almost every day making sure the bid process doesn’t get tampered with. We don’t want to give any perception that we already have a contractor selected. Best-case scenario, that’s the day and it all works out, but it might not. Maybe it happens on the fourth.”

A 3-phase development

So far, the park has a tentative 2025 spring completion date and will be constructed in three phases.

Phase 1 already has been budgeted by the city and includes utilities, a pavilion building, plaza, splash pad, an Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant playground, engineering fees, construction management, splash pad operations, general maintenance and other expenses for a cost currently projected at about $5.17 million. The City Council approved paying $457,000 for playground equipment Aug. 7, 2023.

Phase 2 will include a paddle craft launch, parking area, plaza work, veterans’ memorial, amphitheater and walking paths, engineering, construction management and maintenance expenses for a projected cost of almost $2.43 million.

Phase 3 brings the ice skating ribbon, including a Zamboni, and other general site and maintenance work for a projected cost of about $1.21 million.

The commission’s community-interest event will take place at the Sterling Schools Foundation, 510 E. Miller Road, and will have two meeting options: 1-2 p.m. and 5:30-6:30 p.m.

No action was taken at the meeting, but Meridian is hopeful the council will reach a decision in time for their next session at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16.