HomeMy WebLinkAboutLETTER FROM MIKE GLENN - RE BALBOA ISLAND PARK1
Craig, Teri
To:Detweiler, Laura
Subject:RE: Please do not rename Balboa Park
From: Mike Glenn [mailto:michael.glenn@devion.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 1, 2017 1:10 PM
To: PB&R Commission <PBRCommission@newportbeachca.gov>
Subject: Please do not rename Balboa Park
Dear Honorable PBR Commissioners and also Dave Granoff,
Ralph Rodheim’s list of accomplishments present nothing particularly unique that he alone has accomplished for Newport Beach.
He was involved with a bunch of organizations but I do not see any lasting contribution that our grandchildren should need to thank him
for. So he’s served on boards and commissions—that is not a rarity in Newport Beach. All of you have done the same, but we do not have
enough parks to name them after everyone on this commission. They are a rare commodity and naming them should not be taken lightly.
The process of naming a park after someone should not begin just two months after their death. This is an emotional reaction, not a logical
one.
Further: As a former resident of Balboa Island, I recognize few names on the list of 93 signatures as neighbors.
Beek Park or Collins Park would make much more sense if we are going to be naming a park after someone who has contributed something
huge to the city of Newport Beach.
A resident who died THIS YEAR should not be in consideration to have his name permanently affixed to publicly owned land.
Is the threshold for renaming parks simply that someone serve on commissions and have 93 signatures in support of them?
If this is really so direly important that we do this, then it should be no problem to put it on the 2018 ballot, instead—perhaps with the other
options such as Beek Park or Collins Park.
But really, there should be a five‐year minimum wait time after someone dies to start naming publicly owned land after them. If their name
doesn’t stand on its own five years after passing, then it shouldn’t be on a park to begin with.
Finally, Ralph Rodheim may have been loved by some people—but an equal amount of people felt very differently about him. In my entire
lifetime until this year, I had never received letters which were joyous about someones passing. The emails I received about Rodheim’s death
turned my stomach, as nobody deserves to have their death celebrated. I received at least a half‐dozen of those types of emails and I never
particularly dealt with Rodheim, so there was no reason for anyone to send me such things other than from their own volition.
This is to say that Rodheim was NOT WELL LIKED AT ALL, by MANY PEOPLE.
This is not the right time to name a park after someone (so soon after their death)
This is not a universally beloved man (I have emails that will turn your stomach to prove it—and I do not even count myself as a Rodheim fan)
There are far more qualified people to name a park after.
And if we are going to rename a park, it should go to a public vote.
The decision to rename a park will have significant impact on things like mapping programs (think Google Maps), printed maps, historical
documents, conversational context, etc.
I agree that Rodheims involvement in the city deserves some recognition, and there are always places to put a nice park bench with his name
on it.
But a park? That seems a bit much… even for Newport.
Mike