City considers a proposal to rename park and streets

A proposed ordinance at Monday’s City Commission meeting to add regulations to city parks and other public and semi-public venues prompted a series of suggestions for naming parks and streets.

Among them:

• Naming the triangular park on East Park Street in the Fullerwood neighborhood for Herbie Wiles, longtime resident who lived across from the park.
• Creating a D.P. Davis Memorial Park on city-owned land at the north end of Davis Shores.
• Renaming Bravo Street for Carrie Johnson, considered the “Voice of Lincolnville.”
• Honoring with a bench marker a homeless man known as Don who sat on the bench at the Casa Del Hidalgo.

While the ideas will be discussed further, the park rules ordinance was tabled after Assistant City Attorney John Cary introduced recommended amendments, including strengthened rules on noise at Upchurch Park in Davis Shores and a change in the number of allowable public feedings in parks from five to ten a month. That ordinance will be revisited at the first meeting in February.

Additionally, during the meeting on Monday, there were five ordinances and two resolutions on the agenda.

Commissioners began the meeting by adding two more resolutions.

Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline inserted and the commission approved resolutions to support state legislation creating an office of resiliency and opposing legislation preempting local governments from regulating short-term rentals.

Ordinances regulating tattoo parlors, Lighthouse Park dockage and the city’s tree mitigation fund were advanced to public hearings January 28 along with giving transportation network companies like Uber immunity from the city taxi ordinance due to state statute.

The ordinance setting rules for city parks was tabled for further review.

Resolutions for funding Salt Run and derelict vessels removal costs and updates for the city’s Equal Employment Opportunity Plan all were approved.