Residents have chance to name new city park

The City of Maricopa Parks, Recreation and Libraries Department wants residents of the community to help name the first-ever City Park (see related story). Everyone will have a chance to name the park beginning October 15 during the City of Maricopa’s Founder’s Day celebration scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Duke at Rancho El Dorado.

The Parks, Recreation and Libraries Advisory Committee will staff a special booth with information about the park and a form that residents can submit to City Hall anytime between October 15 and November 18. The PRL Committee will review all suggestions and decide on the park name. The person or family submitting the chosen name will receive FREE Parks and Rec classes for one year. They will also be part of park grand opening celebration and a special ground-breaking ceremony scheduled for January 2006.

“There are a lot of families deserving to have a park or building named after them, but with this first park we want the name to capture the spirit of Maricopa – both past, present and future,” PRL Director Marty McDonald stated. “The name should be easy to pronounce and conjure positive images of our city, the state of Arizona or the Southwest region. The PRL Department is big on capturing the history of our town and incorporating those themes into facility design and names. Hopefully someone can incorporate all of these elements into one creative name.”

An illustrative example of what McDonald is talking about is the working name given to the park during the planning process. The park was commonly referred to as “Pacana,” which is Spanish for “Pecan Tree.” The land where the park will be built was a part of a thousand-acre pecan grove farmed by Keith Waldon of Fico Farms.

The name the park contest is open to anyone and everyone but all suggestions must be turned into City Hall by Friday, November 18, at 5 p.m. You can also email your suggestion to [email protected]. Please include your name, contact information, suggested park name and the reason for your suggestion in your email. For more details, please contact McDonald at (520) 568-9098 x 204.