A group of Bixby Knolls residents will meet at Somerset Park tonight to discuss a variety of issues ranging from neighborhood crime to the issue of local medpot dispensaries.  But the topic that may cause the most stir – and has energized some long-time residents – is the City’s attempt to rename the park after longtime Parks & Recreation employee Chrissy Strong-Marshall, who recently passed after a long battle with cancer.

City officials planned to rename Somerset Park in her honor, and Seventh District Councilmember Tonia Reyes Uranga made the initial moves to begin the process back in July. The City Council approved the plans by an 8-1 vote on August 4.

“We seldom name parks after people who actually do the work,” Reyes Uranga said during a phone interview on Tuesday, reflecting on what made Strong-Marshall such a valuable assett to the community.  She even recalls Strong-Marshall making phone calls from her bed as her health was worsening.

“She was a star, in that sense.”

Some residents who grew up with Somerset Park, though, would rather keep the current name and find another way to honor Strong-Marshall.  They’ll meet tonight at the Miller Family Health Center on Cherry Avenue, at 6:00pm.

“We want to honor this person who passed away from cancer, but not by renaming the park,” says Claudette Powers, one of the organizers of tonight’s community meeting.  She and Reyes Uranga have had several conversations about alternatives; including the possibility of naming an office building or children’s center after Strong-Marshall.

“The name of the park means a lot to the people here,” Powers says, noting that many have lived in the community for more than 60 years.

Reyes Uranga says she knew the park was important to residents, and attempted to get the word out far in advance so that there would be no shock to anyone who might object.  But the lack of a community organization that meets consistently made it difficult for her office to spread the news.  “We knew we had to go above and beyond to notify the neighborhood,” she says.

Reyes Uranga and her staff walked the area and distributed more than 900 postcards with details of the plan.  When no residents spoke out at Parks & Recreation meetings, or a following Housing & Neighborhoods meeting, she figured all was well.

Word eventually spread through the community, though, and a meeting was organized in late August to discuss the issue with Reyes Uranga (read the Signal-Tribune‘s coverage here). She will not attend tonight’s meeting due to a prior engagement, but has committed to meeting with residents again on September 30.  Both sides are sensitive to the other’s, and in the end, Reyes Uranga says that this dialogue is a good thing for the community as a whole.

“The great thing is that maybe now we’ll have a neighborhood group that meets on a regular basis,” she says.  “Chrissy is bringing us together, even in passing.”