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Wednesday, May. 20, 2009

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Name proposals for park rejected

By Laura Kate Zaichkin, Herald staff writer

The 117-acre park being developed along Highway 240 remains without a name after the Richland City Council rejected Tuesday three proposed names community members voted on earlier this year.

Though the name Rattlesnake Mountain Community Park received most of the 66 votes submitted via the city's website and ballots available at the Richland Community Center, the Parks and Recreation Commission recommended the council name the park Atomic Community Park or Sports Complex.

Council members disliked both.

"I would not vote for either Atomic or Rattlesnake," Mayor John Fox said.

The third most popular name for the park in the Horn Rapids area was Hanford Legacy Community Park or Sports Complex.

Council members agreed the name of the park, which will include the 30-acre Babe Ruth Baseball Complex and five multipurpose fields for sports, should reflect a geographic location and appeal to out of town visitors traveling to compete at the sports complex.

But some council members thought the name Rattlesnake Mountain could deter those from the west side of the state who might fear fields slithering with snakes.

Fox, joking that staff should refer to it as Placeholder Park until a name can be agreed upon, suggested the city find a more innovative name and perhaps organize a naming contest in the community or at Richland schools.

In addition to the sports fields, the complex will eventually include lighted softball fields, a concession stand and an aquatic facility. Completion of the park probably will take about a decade, said Doug Strong, Richland's parks and recreation director.



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