Groundbreaking of new Mainlands park on January 25, 2013. From left: Parks and Recreation Director Greg Warner, Assist City Manager Diane Phillips, Commissioner Pam Bushnell, Former Mayor Beth Talabisco, Mainlands Section 3 Resident Bill Villela, and Former Commissioner Patte Atkins-Grad
By: Sharon Aron Baron
Construction is moving along rapidly on the new 23-acre park in the Mainlands despite all of the rain. Work is currently being done on the fishing pier and restroom building, and names for the park have been narrowed down to three choices.
Parks and Recreation Director Greg Warner told the commission at the workshop on Monday that the new park, located at 4600 Monterey Drive in Tamarac, will be completed in the next month to six weeks.
Warner said that workers would be painting the restroom building over the next two weeks, installing the picnic tables, benches, exercise equipment, and completing the fishing pier.
Since 2003, the park naming policy allows citizen’s input. After publicizing the contest in the Sun-Sentinel, a city email blast, and at all local schools, the city received only 58 suggestions for names. This could be because the residents were given a phone number to request information on picking up a packet for the contest and did not offer an easy online submission form.
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, who was the deciding committee for the 58 names, narrowed them down to three:
The three finalists were published again in the Sun-Sentinel for readers to vote on. However, no one responded, according to Warner.
With no input, the three names were then forwarded to the city manager and then to the city commission, who favored the name, Mainlands Park.
“It should be Mainlands Park. That’s what it’s representing,” said Commissioner Diane Glasser.
“I’m fine with Mainlands Park,” said Vice Mayor Michelle Gomez. “I understand that’s what it’s been known as.”
With the majority agreeing with the name, it will be officially voted on at Wednesday’s City Commission meeting at 9:00 a.m.
