Irving council unanimously approves resolution to rename neighborhood park; public speakers promote spring events

The Irving City Council unanimously approved a resolution on March 12 to rename a neighborhood park, and approved the remainder of the night's consent agenda after pulling the renaming item for separate consideration.

Councilman Sapont moved to rename the park that the agenda listed as "Lat Park;" in his remarks he said the new name would be "Lenote Burlock Park" and described the honoree as a local patriot who volunteered for the U.S. Navy as a teenager. He thanked Mayor Stoer for appointing a three-person naming committee and singled out committee members Dennis Webb and David Fath as well as city staff for their help. "It was all this effort together that brought this day and this evening for a very special patriot," Sapont said. After a second, the motion carried unanimously.

The council first approved the consent agenda (items 20'22) with item five pulled for separate consideration; council members moved, seconded and voted "I" on the consent motion, which passed unanimously.

Nut graf: The lone substantive council action recorded in the transcript was the park-renaming resolution. The meeting also included routine ceremonial items and two public comments promoting community arts and heritage events; the council paused after business and planned to reconvene for public comment.

Public comments and community announcements

Mary Higgby spoke for the Heritage Society and invited residents to three April events: a family game night Friday, April 10 at Lively Point Youth Center (free; no reservation required), a youth-oriented video showing April 16 at the South Library at 5:00 p.m., and an Irving trivia event Saturday, April 18 at 9:00 a.m. at the Huffman building. Mary provided a contact phone number (as read on the record) and an email for more information. "I would like to start by inviting you to the three different events that we have throughout the month of April to celebrate Irving," she said.

Michael Hill, representing the Entertainment Series of Irving (ESI), thanked the council for long-standing financial support and promoted ESI's 70th season. He invited the public to a March 21 concert at Carpenter Hall featuring Sinatra-era material and noted a partnership with the Irving Youth Theater; he also mentioned an April youth production, Beetlejuice Jr.

Invocation, pledges and procedural items

Pastor Sonia Dickerson of Daypring Family Church delivered an invocation that included a prayer for the council and named Mayor Rick Stoer. The transcript later records that "Mayor Prom Black will lead us in the pledges," and a speaker said "Thank you, John" after the pledges; the transcript therefore contains inconsistent names for officials involved in those ceremonial moments.

Votes at a glance

- Consent agenda (items 20'22, with item 5 pulled): approved unanimously.
- Resolution to rename Lat Park (pulled item 5): motion by Councilman Sapont to rename the park (transcript contains inconsistent spellings of the proposed new name); vote: approved unanimously.

Transcript inconsistencies and note to readers

The meeting transcript as provided contains inconsistent spellings and references for the park name and some participants. The agenda language recorded the item as a resolution "renaming Lat Park to Lat Spurlock Park," while Councilman Sapont's remarks refer to the name as "Lenote Burlock Park." The invocation also references "Mayor Rick Stoer," yet the pledges were introduced as led by "Mayor Prom Black" and a subsequent line thanks "John." These inconsistencies are reflected above as they appear in the record; official minutes or the adopted resolution should be consulted for the authoritative spelling and official signatories.

What happens next

The council paused and planned to reconvene for public comments later in the evening. The transcript does not record subsequent public-comment proceedings or any implementation details for the renaming beyond the passage of the resolution.