BELEN â Even though there are already several city-owned properties named for people, the Belen City Council approved a new ordinance outlining the process of naming public buildings, parks and monuments.
By a 3-1 vote, with Councilor Ronnie Torres voting against approving the ordinance, the city now has a formal application process, a set of criteria and the creation of a permanent register of the names.
According to the ordinance, applications, which can be submitted by individuals or organizations, must contain identification of the building, park or monument, proposed name and justification for the proposed name, including all available histories, biographies, documents and any other relevant information.
One of the biggest assets the city and people of Belen have, compared to other local cities and towns nearby, is it has a historic, arts and cultural district.
Even though it is still not in a mature phase, it attracts people and business from inside and outside of Belen to visit and spend their money and provide taxes for the city.
For every dollar the city invested in the program over the last nine years, we have been returning about five hard dollars, not to mention the value of thousands of volunteer hours in benefits back to the citizens. We all wish our own businesses or local investments could get anywhere near that.