The Longview City Council will discuss a proposal on Thursday to be among the first cities in the country commemorating the life of Charlie Kirk.
Lower Columbia College — whose address on Maple Street would be changed to Charlie Kirk Way if a proposed resolution passes at the upcoming council meeting — said in a letter to the city earlier this week that adapting to the new address could be "feasible."
It would, however, carry the same magnitude as "changing the address of city hall or "another major civic institution."
The Sept. 17 letter from LCC's Vice President of Administration Nolan K. Wheeler to the city focused solely on the logistical elements the college would face from the name change, and requested that their impact be "carefully considered in the planning process."
"We also appreciate your continued support of the college and your consideration of the broader implications of this proposed address change," Wheeler wrote.
Wheeler indicated at a Board of Trustees meeting earlier this week that the cost would be at a minimum between $50,000 and $70,000, and that over time the costs could go higher.
When reached for comment, LCC Vice President of Effectiveness and College Relations and Public Information Officer Wendy Hall said in an email that the college "values its long-standing partnership with the City of Longview, and we are optimistic that the college's perspective will be carefully considered in this matter."
In the two and a half weeks since Kirk's assassination in Utah, street name proposals honoring the slain conservative activist have been discussed in some form in at least three states, although none have yet passed.
A motion in the city of Hernando, Mississippi failed without a second, according to a news report out of the Jackson Clarion-Ledger.
Other proposals included one by the mayor of Melbourne, Florida; another by a county commissioner in Escabia County, Florida, according to Florida Today. Another request seeking a name change on a roadway in Pensacola, Florida at the request of its local Republican Party failed earlier this week, according to the Pensacola News Journal.
Lawmakers in South Carolina and Arizona have also floated proposals for naming roadways after Kirk with minimal traction.
Councilmembers Erik Halvorson and Keith Young put forth Resolution 2578 for the Sept. 25 meeting seeking to rename a section of Maple Street between Olympia and Washington ways.
Halvorson announced his proposal early last week in a Facebook post outlining his proposal and asking, "What are your thoughts?"
It has garnered 230 comments, 128 reactions and 32 shares as of Friday afternoon.
Two hours after Halvorson's post, Cowlitz County Democrats chair Chris Carlson posted that her political organization "strongly opposes" the Charlie Kirk Way proposal. Her post cited "Mr. Kirk's history of making inflammatory, divisive and at times harmful statements" such as "derogatory remarks about Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy" and "statements about LGBTQ+ people conflating identity issues with unrelated social economic problems," among other points of contention.
"The Cowlitz County Democrats stands for public spaces that heal rather than divide, that respect truth, inclusivity and dignity," Carlson said.
She called for residents to join them in making their voice heard by attending the council meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Resolution 2578, introduced by Halvorson and supported by Young, states in part that Kirk dedicated his life working to ensure "that college campuses remain places of open dialogue, freedom of expression and robust debate." Further, the resolution notes that LCC "represents the very type of campus where the principles of free expression and intellectual diversity must be preserved and protected."
The resolution goes on to proclaim that the name Charlie Kirk Way "is fitting" for that section of roadway, "which serves as a gateway to Longview's center of higher education, (and) be designated in recognition of an individual whose mission was to defend and advance the rights of students."
A resolution is different from an ordinance, but if passed it would serve as a directive to city staff "to take all necessary actions to implement this street renaming, including but not limited to updating municipal maps, signage and public records."
LCC Vice President Wheeler's letter does not discuss the controversy of the name change but instead focuses on the numerous and potentially costly logistical hurdles its administration staff would need to clear if the council's name change were to pass.
"While it is difficult to quantify the exact financial impact of the proposed change (likely in the tens of thousands of dollars or higher), given the recent budget reduction efforts at LCC, any additional expenditures required to implement this change would likely necessitate a reduction in services — directly affecting students," Wheeler wrote.
Some of the different impacts a name change would involve include to its printed materials and branding, such as reprints of its business cards, letterhead and other stationery.
The name change would require updates to its "digital presence" including LCC's own website and internal directories as well as to navigation services such as Google Maps.
LCC would need to notify and update its records with vendors and contractors, among others, "to ensure accurate billing shipping and communications."
And lastly LCC, notes that the address change would require updates to a litany of state and funding agencies, including "accreditation bodies, grant funders, national and international college directories and other compliance-related agencies.
"These updates, while feasible, would require significant time, planning and resources to execute smoothly, with potential risks of disruption if not carefully managed," Wheeler said.
