We note a general misunderstanding of a resident’s application to rename Fort Steilacoom Park to honor Dr. Claudia B. Thomas.
To clarify, the City is not proposing to rename the park.
A resident applied to rename the park to honor Dr. Claudia B. Thomas. Residents are welcome to suggest new names for parks & facilities through a standard process. Dr. Thomas was a local educator and Washington’s first Black mayor.
That is where we are today: an application was received.
The process is working as designed. An application triggers a public hearing and corresponding public notification. A public hearing is simply a formal method to collect comments for the record on a particular issue.
This process is designed to generate public input. Among other criteria, any suggested name must “have broad public support” (Res. 2016-18, Sec. 1, B.5).
This hearing will occur at the Lakewood Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 5:30 p.m. We invite your testimony. Submit comments to Nikki York at [email protected].
An affirmative recommendation from PRAB would advance to City Council. The City might place a public notice to generate additional input.
The City of Lakewood accepts suggestions and follows a fair process to consider them.