[Posted August 18, 2022]
Portland's Bureau of Parks and Recreation has launched a new process to rename A Park and the Wilson Pool; the City's office of Community and Civic Life has released preliminary neighborhood profiles.
New Names for SW Portland Parks Facilities
In December of 2020, outgoing city commissioner Amanda Fritz un-named Custer Park, which has been referred to by the place-holder name of A Park ever since. The former Wilson High School became Ida B. Wells High School in January of 2021 following a public process undertaken by Portland Public Schools, leaving the Wilson Pool on the school's grounds adrift with a name no longer connected to its site. Because the pool is operated by Portland Parks and Recreation, that organization is now charged with finding a new name.
A committee has been appointed by parks director Adena Long to review naming suggestions from the community following the process outlined in the city's naming policy. The committee will make a recommendation for new names for A Park and the Wilson Pool to Director Long and Parks Commissioner Carmen Rubio for their approval. More information and a list of committee members is here.
One process has already been conducted to choose a new name for the pool: In June of 2021 a grassroots committee of community volunteers came together to design and oversee a public process to select a new name. The Rename the Wilson Pool Committee solicited name suggestions from the community during a two-month period, resulting in 21 candidates that were then voted on in a month-long process. Hillsdale Pool came out on top with over 66% of the votes.
A parks department spokesperson said the committee will meet in September to begin reviewing the name submissions and is likely to make recommendations to Director Long this fall, with an announcement of the new names this winter. Hillsdale Pool, the name that won the most votes in the community-led process earlier this year, will be considered along with the other community submissions.
In an email dated August 17, the Parks Department announced that it is accepting name suggestions for both the Wilson Pool and A Park through August 22. The email points out that all names must follow the criteria laid out in the Parks department's naming policy. The email goes on to state that the department is seeking names that:
Reflect and inspire the community
Honor Native and Indigenous communities
Are symbolic or significant
Create a sense of community and inclusion
Are future facing and imagine a Portland for all
The deadline for submission is Monday, August 22, 2022 at 5pm. Submissions may be submitted at this link: www.surveymonkey.com/r/MB9W8W8.
2020 Neighborhood Profiles
The Office of Community and Civic Life, in an email dated August 10, released preliminary 2020 Neighborhood Profiles created in partnership with the Portland State University Population Research Center.
Residents are invited to view the new neighborhood profile maps webpage and neighborhood profiles (the profile for Hillsdale is here) and provide feedback. Comments will be used to refine the profiles and develop an interactive mapping tool.
Neighborhood profiles are part of the Portland Engagement Project, a citywide reimagining of community engagement. From the webpage: "We hope this resource will help the City and community partners improve outreach, set programmatic priorities, help Portlanders in need and become more inclusive and equitable when making decisions about communications, programming, funding, and events. It will help to sharpen our understanding of the unique changes and issues occurring within each neighborhood."
The feedback period is open until Friday, September 9. The link to provide feedback is www.surveymonkey.com/r/XMLXG7G.
—Valeurie Friedman
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