Parks committee recommends Sharon Nesbitt Heritage Park and Mary Tibbetts Trail; vote unanimous
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Summary
After public testimony, the Parks Advisory Committee unanimously recommended naming the Sandy Riverfront URA site 'Sharon Nesbitt Heritage Park' and a segment of the 40‑mile loop the 'Mary Tibbetts Trail.' Both recommendations will go to city council for final approval.
The Troutdale Parks Advisory Committee on Feb. 19 recommended two names to the City Council: Sharon Nesbitt Heritage Park for the Sandy Riverfront URA site, and Mary Tibbetts Trail for the trail segment between Depot Park and the Harlow Road terminus.
The committee heard public testimony from members of the Troutdale Historical Society and other residents urging the honors. Len Otto, a longtime local and member of the Troutdale Historical Society, noted Sharon Nesbitt’s decades-long work documenting local history and said Nesbitt is "the queen of Troutdale." Marley Boxler, a Troutdale staff member who helped develop interpretive panels for the Sandy River trail, said she favored the word "heritage" because it ‘‘evokes not just the past but the present and the future.’’
Frank Stevens and another public commenter urged inclusion of Indigenous history and suggested honoring Mary Tibbetts, a Columbia River Indigenous woman whose burial location is unknown; several committee members supported that suggestion. Committee members also discussed keeping trail names consistent along continuous routes and coordinating naming with future development plans in the area.
Formal recommendations were moved and seconded in committee. In a roll call on the park name, members Woodrow Terrell, Sherry Winters, Tiffany Long, Robbie Cantrell, Shelley Reynolds, Victoria Rizzo and Jim Hill all voted yes. The committee’s formal recommendation reads: "The Troutdale Parks Advisory Committee formally recommends the name Sharon Nesbitt Heritage Park for the URA Sandy Riverfront site." The motion passed unanimously.
The committee then moved to the trail name and, after a second, voted by roll call on the Mary Tibbetts Trail recommendation for the trail from Depot Park to Harlow Road; the recorded votes were the same individuals voting yes and the committee’s recommendation will be forwarded to City Council for consideration.
Both committee recommendations are advisory; final naming requires city council approval and any administrative steps the city follows for official place names.
