By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

When Mike Alvarez was hired to direct Benicia’s new parks department, his first project was to turn a patch of waterfront city property into what became called Ninth Street Park. His efforts gave residents and others a place to fish and launch a boat, complete with the convenience of bathrooms.

Benicia City Council decided Tuesday it would be fitting to name that park for the newly retired director, who spent most of his career with the city as its first parks director.

But recognizing that the city has no formal naming policy, the Council asked staff to produce recommendations for consideration at a future meeting.

When Alvarez announced he would retire at the end of June, some residents suggested naming that park after him. Others wanted to keep calling it the Ninth Street Park because the name tells someone where to find it.

And a few questioned why the city keeps renaming its sites.

When the matter was aired before the Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Commission on June 8, Alvarez’s successor, Mike Dotson, suggested a compromise: add Alvarez to the existing name to make it “Alvarez Ninth Street Park.”

The park’s current sign, which labels it the “Ninth Street Launching Facility,” would remain unchanged. A new sign at the east end of the park would carry the longer name, Dotson said.

This isn’t the first time the site has experienced a name change, said Bonnie Silveria, a former member of the Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Commission who worked with Alvarez for years.

At one time, she said, the park was called Diamond Beach.

Nor was everyone on board with changing the vacant lot to a park, Silveria reminded the Council. “The neighbors didn’t want a park,” she said.

But such debates are part of the city’s history and growth, she said: A ball field gave way to the current Benicia Post Office; and when her grandfather moved to Benicia, residents were hotly debating whether to pave the streets.

The city has a history of naming its sites, she said as she urged the city to do the same for Alvarez: Fitzgerald Field honors a past mayor; other ball fields recognize those who promoted local baseball and Little League. Some parks were named for past officials, and the city named its pool complex for James Lemos, the mayor who “singlehandedly collected money for that pool,” Silveria said.

Mike Smith urged the Council to put the matter on the ballot. While he said Alvarez had done many good things in the city, he questioned the city’s “constant renaming of things” and urged the Council to set higher standards for such honors.

But Nancy Cockerham, chair of the Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Commission, asked the Council to add Alvarez’s name.

“Recognizing excellence encourages excellence,” she said. “Mike has made our piece of the world a better place.”

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