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Residents and family clash at hearing over proposed 'Amelia Penn Way' and 'Dr. Melinda Sapp Way' commemorations
Summary
Two commemorative naming requests — one to designate a portion of Umatilla Street 'Amelia Penn Way' and another to name the Madison/Alger intersection for Dr. Melinda Sapp — prompted strong, divided testimony; commissioners closed the hearings and referred both items to the community development committee for further review.
The City Commission heard competing public testimony about two commemorative designations: a request from Corey Penn to mark Umatilla Street between Madison and Union as "Amelia Penn Way" and a petition from the Lighthouse Full Life Center to designate the Madison/Alger intersection as "Dr. Melinda Sapp Way."
Tim Bergman, the city engineer, outlined the requests and noted that existing street‑name signs and addressing would remain unchanged; commemorative signage would be installed beneath the official Umatilla signage. "I want to note that the original street name signage... would remain for addressing and navigation purposes, but the commemorative designation signage would be placed... beneath the existing Umatilla Street name sign," he said.
Public testimony was sharply divided. Several long‑term residents of Umatilla — including speakers who said they or family members had lived on the street for 50–60 years — opposed renaming any portion of the street and asked that earlier neighborhood signage honoring Mary Fleming remain in place. One resident said removing or overlaying local memorials would "validate violence" and recalled persistent neighborhood safety concerns over decades. Multiple speakers urged greater outreach to adjacent property owners and more time for community discussion.
Corey Penn, the petitioner and father of Amelia Penn, said he proposed the commemorative designation to honor his child and to keep attention on gun violence: "He's a child of the community... I'm just doing the best that I possibly can as a father to keep my son's name alive," Penn said.
Pastor RJ Marshall and other supporters urged commissioners to honor Dr. Melinda Sapp for longstanding contributions to the community through ministry, education and philanthropic activity; supporters noted institutional recognition and local programs tied to Dr. Sapp's work.
The commission closed the public hearings and referred both commemorative‑naming requests to the Community Development Committee for additional deliberation and recommendation before any final action.
Next step: both requests will return to committee for further outreach and recommendation to the full commission.
