Longmont chooses a name for a city park

On Tuesday, the Longmont City Council voted 6-1 to name a neighborhood park at 636 Deerwood Drive, Fox Meadows Park.

The park was donated in 2003 when the Fox Meadows development began. 

The 9-acre parcel will include an open turf area, picnic shelters, a restroom, a playground, a half-court basketball court and handball court, a sledding hill and an off-leash dog exercise area. 

The city plan allocated over $350,000 for the park design and $3 million to build new amenities. 

The city hosted three community meetings to solicit public input on what they wanted to see there. The public also provided around 60 name suggestions including naming the park after Leona Stoecker, who served as the city’s mayor from 1993 to 2001, Jim Wall, former CIO of Longmont and Dan Benavidez who was a long-time Longmont activist, former city council member and deputy mayor. 

The park’s construction is expected to begin in the summer and be completed in the first quarter of 2025.