Laserfiche WebLink
There are a lot of people in this community who want to see this project complete and open. There's a <br />lot of interest in it by a variety of stakeholders including the general public, the Historical Commission, <br />the Park Commissioners. We thought that it is likely that any name submitted by city staff would <br />probably go through a rigorous review process and would likely come out different at the end. Instead <br />of spending a lot of staff time trying to come up with the name that could be sold across the board, we <br />had to get the process started. The Parks and Recreation Department decided to start that process by <br />submitting a name for consideration, and that is what we have done. <br />I look forward to your discussion, the public comments, and having a name for this project. That <br />concludes my presentation. <br />Mark Soine: Jack O'Donnell, would you like to show your slides now? <br />Jack O'Donnell: I have pictures of several houses that used to sit on the plaza site, the 2700 block of <br />Wetmore. These are photos of 2716 Wetmore. The first residents were the Englebert Bast family who <br />owned a brickyard here. They lived here from 1897 to 1903, then the house became a boarding house. <br />This house would have been located right in the middle of the plaza. On the corner was the old Redman <br />Hall. That building was later moved north on the block and there was a gas station on the corner. This <br />is a photo of the Bank of Everett. This shows the block on a Sanborn Map. <br />All the buildings on this block came down for the Sears parking lot. The Sears Building was located <br />where the Presbyterian Church was on the corner of Colby and 27th Street. When I was locating these _ <br />pictures, I thought something like these photos might be of interest in the plaza area because it reflects <br />the history of the area. <br />I love the new plaza. Our city needs that kind of thing. The water feature is wonderful. <br />Jan Meston: For the record, we received three written comments from Michelle Sosin, Vicki Rosenau <br />and Falken Forshaw. The Commission has received these comments and there are copies available this <br />evening for the public. Those comments will be forwarded to the Park Board. <br />Barbara Lamoureaux: If the name is "City Plaza", does that open it up to being renamed after "Bill <br />Blow" 40 years from now? I don't understand how something goes from being named something for <br />years, then folks decide to change the name. If it doesn't have a real name other than "City Plaza" or <br />"Plaza," can it become somebody else's name down the road? <br />Mark Soine: From my experience here and at the county with respect to naming policies, the <br />legislative body can do pretty much whatever they want to do. It could be named one thing today and <br />something else with the next City Council. <br />Barbara Lamoureaux: Why can't you sell the naming rights? We got Comcast Arena. I don't know <br />what they paid for that, but maybe there's somebody who wants to pay to have their name on the plaza. <br />Is that fair game? <br />Dave Ramstad: Yes, I think so. <br />Barbara Lamoureaux: People and companies pay to name things all over the country. <br />Dave Koenig: That seems like a broader issue. I don't know if City Council has dealt with this issue <br />except for Comcast Arena. For some time whether you could have advertising on buses was a <br />controversial topic, and now that is allowed. That is a policy issue. That is not what we have before us <br />2 <br />