Carmel Residents Association names Tom Parks citizen of the year; city to rededicate Chief Red Eagle Alley sign

At an April meeting, council participants announced two community events: the Carmel Residents Association honored Tom Parks as its citizen of the year, and the city will hold a rededication for a reproduced sign marking Chief Red Eagle Alley.

"He is the ... Carmel Residents Association citizen of the year. So congratulations, Tom. Very, very well deserved," one speaker said. The induction ceremony was announced for "next Thursday, the tenth at 5:30 at the Carmel Women's Club," the speaker said. The speaker also encouraged residents to consider joining the Carmel Residents Association and thanked the group for its community contributions.

Separately, staff and council members described plans to reinstall a reproduced redwood sign for Chief Red Eagle Alley, the narrow lane behind the Wells Fargo bank between Mission and San Carlos. The meeting noted that the original sign is being kept at the library and that Cleve Waters, the city's maintenance manager, arranged for an identical reproduction. "Nice redwood carved sign. The original is safe at the library," a participant said. The rededication was scheduled for Monday at 10 a.m.; staff said they tried to locate family members and invited people who knew Chief Red Eagle, naming Cindy Lloyd and Sarah Burling as attendees.

Clarifying details from the meeting: Tom Parks was named Carmel Residents Association Citizen of the Year; an induction is scheduled for "next Thursday, the tenth" at 5:30 p.m. at the Carmel Women's Club; the Chief Red Eagle Alley sign will be rededicated Monday at 10 a.m.; the reproduced sign is carved redwood and the original sign is stored at the library. The meeting included no formal vote on either announcement.

The announcements were presented as community updates rather than formal council actions.