By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – On Monday, the Safford City Council approved the Safford Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee’s recommendation to name a newly planned park for 8th Avenue and Discovery Park Boulevard after former Safford Mayor Jason Kouts, who died Jan. 24, 2024 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
The council also approved naming a new park on El Paso Boulevard, the Owens Family Park. The Safford Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee members include Nora Rogers, Tim Linden, Tad Jacobson, Pete Gauna, Maria Kouts, Gilbert Perez, and Ed Lopez.
The naming wasn’t all easy going, however, as Safford Vice Mayor Arnold Lopez suggested waiting on officially naming the parks until they are actually developed.
However, Public Works Director Lane Henrie said the project has been waiting for an official name to be placed on design plans.
Mayor Richard Ortega expressed his desire to approve the naming of the parks.
“I think it’s a good thing to do, so when we do talk about the parks from here until they are developed, we will be calling them by name. And that way, our public citizens – they’ll get familiar with what we’re talking about. So, I think they should be named now.”
According to Planning and Community Development Director Jaime Embick, the city solicited potential names from residents through online surveys, local events, and other means, including posting them on the city’s website for two months. However, the city only ended up with 97 votes for Mayor Jason Kouts, with the Owens family garnering 7 and several names with just one vote.
Safford Council member Dusti Brantner said she had a lot of comments from constituents who said they didn’t know a vote to name the parks was even happening and suggested maybe allowing more time to garner more votes.
“I just had a lot of comments come back in that they didn’t even know about this vote,” Brantner said. “And so, I mean, it doesn’t seem like if we have 10,000 people, only 97 people voting – that doesn’t seem like the majority.”
Vice Mayor Lopez advised that while he thought it was early to name a park that isn’t even under construction yet, he is supportive of the name choice and would support it now as well.
After the discussion, the council voted 6-1 to approve the naming recommendation for both parks, with Councilperson Brantner voting in opposition.
The city of Safford is planning on constructing a $5 to $7 million, 15-acre park at 8th Avenue and Discovery Park Boulevard with preliminary plans including five main amenities: a splash pad, pickleball courts, inclusive playground equipment areas, pinch-less zip lines, and an amphitheater to possibly seat up to 500. The process has been in the works for at least the past two years.
