The Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission voted Friday to recommend naming a sports field complex in Hazel Dell, “Luke Jensen Sports Park.”
Construction is scheduled to start next month on the $9.1 million complex.
Nearly 4,000 people voted on seven potential names that had been culled from public suggestions.
Ninety-five percent of voters wanted to name the park after Luke, a 9-year-old who died last year after a two-year battle with leukemia.
Luke attended King’s Way Christian Schools, where his father, Steve, serves as a principal.
The schools are next to the future sports complex and will share sports fields and parking.
Jilayne Jordan, spokeswoman for the Greater Clark Parks District, said Luke’s parents and other family members attended Friday’s meeting.
She said Steve Jensen told commissioners they weren’t there to lobby for the name, but to thank the group for considering recommending naming the park after their son.
Jordan said the Jensen family also preferred “Luke Jensen Sports Park,” over “Luke Jensen Memorial Park,” which was how the name was worded in the poll.
The Board of County Commissioners will have final say on the park’s name.
The 20-acre park is expected to be game-ready by spring 2012.
Construction will be funded by the real estate excise tax, which is paid whenever property is sold.
The basic maintenance of the park will be funded by the Greater Clark Parks District, a special district approved by voters in the unincorporated urban area of Clark County in 2005.
