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Chair Hoag also noted that the Commission received two electronic messages that had similar <br />sentiment to all of the community members who commented at the meeting tonight. <br />Commissioner Baggenstoss said that he felt it was a good time for the Commission to do some <br />listening to our indigenous community members. <br />Commissioner Stoner commented that he felt park names serve the main purpose of helping to <br />identify and differentiate parks within the community. If this specific name is causing concerns it <br />should definitely be changed. Youth Commissioner Carlson agreed as it does not meet the current <br />park naming criteria and people are asking for the change. <br /> <br />Commissioner Baggenstoss said that he is excited to bring a decision that is honored and brought <br />forth from an underrepresented group. Also, he reinforced that this will need to be a responsible <br />decision. Not a decision that feels like it is “ours”. <br /> <br />The Commission discussed timelines and process for potentially changing the name of Pocahontas <br />Park. <br /> <br />Commissioner O’Brien commented that it could be decided at tonight’s meeting that the <br />Commission would like to move forward with changing the name of Pocahontas Park. In addition, it <br />could be decided if the name should be a generic name or if it should honor a group of people/idea. <br /> <br />Commissioner Hoag cautioned moving forward with any decisions this evening without a timeline <br />from staff on next steps. <br /> <br />Staff reminded the Commission that they are a recommending body and that the first step of any <br />timeline would need to be understanding if this is something that the City Council would be <br />interested in changing. <br /> <br />Commissioner Baggenstoss reiterated that the Commission needs to bring the non-dominant culture <br />voice to the table and make that voice more important than the dominant culture’s voice. If we hear <br />from the non-dominant culture and they begin to feel that their voice is trusted in city government <br />that is a win for everyone. <br /> <br />Commissioner Hoag noted that he feels it is premature to bring it to the City Council and he would <br />be hesitant to rush the process. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />6 <br /> <br /> <br />