West Modesto park named for local family now will honor civil rights icon
The city will rename Mellis Park in west Modesto in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but the city postponed deciding whether to rename its King-Kennedy Memorial Center in honor of the civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1968.
The City Council voted 7-0 to take these actions Tuesday. Modesto resident Sebastian Jones has spearheaded the effort to rename the park and the center, which are next to one another on Martin Luther King Drive.
Modesto named the west Modesto park after Dan Mellis and his son, George, in 1964. Dan Mellis died in 1960 and was a former councilman and business and community leader.
He was one of the founders and first president of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, according to Bee archives. George Mellis was a Stanislaus County Superior Court judge. He died in August 1964 at the age of 43. The council’s actions include recognizing the Mellis family with a bronze plaque, statue or renaming another park in their honor.
Jones pressed the council to rename the King-Kennedy Memorial Center in honor of King. The center opened in 1969 and honors King and Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 as he sought to become the Democratic nominee for president.
The West Modesto Community Collaborative and the King-Kennedy Memorial Center Board of Directors oppose changing the center’s name. The collaborative operates the center for the city, and the King-Kennedy Memorial Center Board of Directors holds community events there.
Collaborative Executive Director Perfecto Munoz told council members the collaborative has held many meetings in recent years with west Modesto residents regarding the park and center. He said residents support renaming the park but not the center.
The city’s Culture Commission will consider Jones’ request to rename the center and provide the City Council with a recommendation. The commission recommended the council rename the park while honoring the Mellis family in another manner.
