Board Wants More Input On Park Name

Thu., Aug. 6, 1998

A proposal to rename Liberty Park to honor the late Rev. Clifton E. Hamp needs more community input, the Spokane Park Board Land Committee decided Wednesday.

Committee chair Steve McNutt said more Spokane residents need a chance to discuss the proposal before the committee makes a recommendation to the Park Board.

“We’re seeing a lot of pressure from various interest groups,” he said. “But I’m not sure how representative they are of the community at large.”

The committee voted unanimously to table the issue until a community forum could be arranged.

Hamp, who died last year, founded the Full Gospel Mission for All Nations and was a longtime resident of the East Central community.

A group of East Central residents sent a letter to the city parks and recreation department last month proposing the change. That group has gathered about 250 signatures in support.

Opponents say they’d like to see Hamp memorialized, but not by renaming Liberty, which is one of the city’s oldest parks. East Central resident Jerry Numbers presented a petition Wednesday that he said had nearly 400 signatures contesting the change.

No date has been set for the public forum.

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