A proposal to honor a longtime community leader is under consideration by Manhattan city officials.
Columnist and local broadcaster Mike Matson spoke Monday at the Historic Resources Advisory Board meeting about an initial proposal to rename the Union Pacific Depot in honor of former legislator, city commissioner and retired physician Roger Reitz.
“We started doing some due diligence and quickly realized, after visiting with some other folks involved with history, that to actually change the name of the depot might be a bridge too far,” Matson said.
Instead, Matson said some other ideas are under consideration.
“One is a bronze plaque that could be placed somewhere on the wall of the depot,” he said. “Another is some sort of stone marker that could be placed on the ground that would sort of help visitors understand Reitz’s commitment — what he’s done for the community.”
Matson said Reitz has had a lifelong love of trains and his family provided a substantial donation to help restore the depot.
“He has model trains in his home still, and if you’ve ever visited his home, you can’t touch the trains,” Matson said. “They have a deep, emotional commitment to the actual structure.”
The parks and recreation advisory board unanimously approved moving forward with some sort of honorary marker at the depot. The item will be considered at a future city commission meeting.
Reitz was a member of the Kansas Senate from 2005 to 2013. He also served in the Kansas House from 2002 to 2005. In addition to his time in the legislature, Reitz served on the Manhattan City Commission and Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 school board.