Honoring Charlie: Council Makes a Move to Memorialize Late Colleague

By reputation, late Council Member Charlie Crichton was a dedicated civil servant, a 19-year veteran of the Burnsville City Council with little fondness for fuss or frills. This presented a bit of conundrum when Crichton died at the age of 83: How best to memorialize a man known as an avowed "budget hawk?" 

"Sometimes simple is better," Deputy City Manager Tom Hansen concluded.

In keeping with Hansen's assessment, on Tuesday the council opted to memorialize Crichton with a modest plaque on a bench in Alimagnet Park. Council members said the park had special significance for Crichton and his widow Terry, who often took their dogs there to play. 

"It was a a place he enjoyed being," said Mayor Elizabeth Kautz. "It had meaning for her, for him."

However, the plaque was just one of many options considered by city officials.

Here are some ideas that didn't quite make the cut:

• Create a Forest of Honor — City officials kicked around the idea of planting a stand of trees at a city park site to recognize Councilmember Crichton and other civic leaders in Burnsville. Each person would be represented by a newly-planted tree, coupled with a plaque on the site describing the individuals being honored and their contributions to Burnsville.

• Create a Trail of Honor — Similar in concept to the "Forest of Honor." The Parks & National Resources Commission considered lining Civic Center Parkway with trees to recognize Crichton and others, also acknowledged with a plaque. 

• Re-name the trail around Earley Lake — Crichton Trail? Anyone? Anyone?

• Plant an Oak — The commission then pondered a pared down version of both honorable "Forest" and "Trail," a single, majestic oak in the native plant restoration area off of Nicollet in Civic Center Park.

• Re-name the Alimagnet Park prairie area. 

• Re-name a Community Garden site.

• Re-name the Alimagnet Dog Park. 

The council has not yet decided on a date for the dedication ceremony.