As previously reported by the Hernando Sun, the Brooksville City Council voted 3-2 (during the 06/20/16 meeting) to change Union Street to Muhammad Ali Boulevard in honor of the boxing legend. Property owners were to be contacted and advised of the changes they would need to make if the street name change was approved in August.
Community Development Director Bill Geiger said feedback from the property appraiser’s office indicated that to the United States Postal Service, the term “boulevard” generally means a two-lane road divided by a landscaped median, and Union Street in its current form does not meet that criteria. However, the Council could still change the name to whatever designation it desired, as the current M.L. King Jr. Boulevard does not have a landscaped median, either.
Of the letters sent to 74 property owners and residents, Geiger stated only two negative responses were received. Geiger discussed a concern from Council Member Frankie Burnett about the expense residents would incur as a result of the name change.
Edna Willis, who lives on Union Street, spoke to the council to express how the proposed change would affect her. Having recently updated her driver’s license, Mrs. Willis stated she lived there beginning in 1964 when the street was called “John Street,” and was not in favor of having to change it again. “I’m happy with Union,” she said.
A cousin of Mrs. Willis, Evelyn Chester Henderson, recounted a trip to Mississippi 15 years ago when she was looking for anything with B.B. King’s name on it. She was told that the street where he was born was renamed in honor of the musician. “I doubt that anybody is going to come to Brooksville asking for Muhammad Ali Street,” she said.
Mrs. Henderson said she understood the contributions Ali made to sports, but felt the proposal to rename a street for someone who was not associated with Brooksville was a “knee-jerk” reaction. “If he was that great,” she said, “he deserves more” than having a dead-end street named for him.
“Changing for the sake of change isn’t economically advisable,” said Mrs. Henderson. The lack of response to the city’s letters may not indicate approval of the change as some may not understand the process.
Burnett presented a compromise to change the name to Muhammad Ali Way, and only apply the change to the portion of Union Street that is between E. Jefferson Street and M.L. King Jr. Boulevard. Only two private properties are along this section of the road, and neither has the Union Street address.
Geiger stated this would require changing two road signs at a cost of $300 versus the eight signs originally needed at a cost of $1200, a savings of approximately $900 from the first estimate.
Mayor Natalie Kahler stated that the budget is a consideration, and the street is already named. She said she felt uneasy spending more money to commemorate someone who did not live here, than on the Great Brooksvillian who had a positive impact on the city.
Burnett respectfully disagreed with Kahler and spoke passionately about the name change. County and city street names do not always reflect those who lived and contributed to the success of the city or county, he said.
Burnett pointed out that the community center was recently renamed the Sarah F. Davis Community Center even though a road is already named for her. “And now we’ve got two things named after an individual that didn’t have such a great impact as other individuals,” said Burnett. Davis volunteered at the community center for a number of years and was murdered in her South Brooksville home in 2010.
The council voted 4-1 to change the smaller portion of Union Street to Muhammad Ali Way, with Mayor Kahler voting against it. The street name change will become effective 09/16/16.
Mrs. Henderson commented afterward about the process. She was glad that there was at least one opposing vote, and felt that the big picture was lost. In the rush to memorialize Ali with such a narrow focus, Mrs. Henderson asked, “If he was that important, why not ….name some other more significant thing that impacts more people than just the African-American community?
That’s not really targeting that we are being community minded.”