West Melbourne council renames community park ‘Sandhill Crane Park,’ designates 24.6 acres as parkland

The West Melbourne City Council voted March 17 to rename West Melbourne Community Park to Sandhill Crane Park and unanimously designated a newly acquired 24.6‑acre parcel along Minton as public parkland.

Councilmember Mary Adams moved for approval of Resolution 2026‑66 to change the name; Councilmember McGuire seconded. Adams told the council that residents had asked why a generic community name was being replaced by a species-specific name and said the sandhill crane is part of the city’s identity. “I would like to make a motion, to approve resolution 20 20 six‑six, renaming the community park to Sand Hill Crane Park,” Adams said.

Councilmember McGuire spoke in favor and offered a personal anecdote: “A sandhill blocked two of them…a lovely, I assume, mating couple blocked the path to disallow anybody from going south on Minton this morning,” she said, arguing the birds are a visible part of the community. Councilmember Fultz said she had not observed sandhill cranes in the park area during her 24 years in West Melbourne and described a preference to keep the generic name, but said she expected to vote for the change.

After a short roll-call/voice sequence the presiding official announced the motion carried unanimously. The council then took a separate vote to designate the 24.6‑acre parcel the city purchased along Minton as parkland. Staff said the designation helps remove any ambiguity about whether the parcel could be treated as surplus property under recent "live local" statutory provisions; Adams moved to approve the parkland designation and the council approved the motion 7–0.

Both the renaming and the parkland designation were described by staff as coordinated steps: the renaming formally consolidates the existing West Melbourne Community Park and the adjacent new parcel under the Sandhill Crane Park name, and the parkland designation protects the purchase from potential reclassification in future development discussions.

The council also discussed minor implementation details, such as whether the park’s existing tenant signage (a leased faceplate that references a business tenant) would remain in place; staff said the leased marquee space would remain as long as the tenant remains and the city could change the faceplate in the future if circumstances change.

Next steps: staff will incorporate the name change and the designated acreage into signage and master‑plan materials and coordinate any required updates to maps, promotional materials and facility signage.