Parks and Recreation Board approves of City Recreation Hall name change

Ireland Sargent | Staff Reporter

SAN MARCOS — On Tuesday, April 5 at 6 p.m., the San Marcos City Council renamed the once renowned City Recreation Hall to the Pauline Espinosa Community Hall. The city council met to discuss many agenda items including the renaming of the rec hall.  

Mayor Jane Hughson asked for an amendment of the facility name as it may be confusing to replace recreation with the community. 

“If we were renaming a new building, I would be happy to rename the entire thing, but we have had the rec hall for years,” Hughson said. “To avoid confusion my motion is to strike community and insert recreation.” 

Councilmember Maxfield Baker raised a question about why the council would move forward with the amendment when community members voted for the name to read community and not recreation. 

“Why are you moving forward with the amendment if this is not what the community wants anyways?” Baker said. 

Baker also presented that the current rec hall does not serve as a recreational hall, yet it is better viewed as a place for the community to come together. He also took his stance and stood for what the community has asked for in this renaming process. 

“I think it is a disservice to the community and their memory of Pauline Espinosa to abandon that title for the sake of convenience,” Baker said. 

Hughson expressed that she is looking out for the city and wants to avoid confusion altogether, furthering her opinion on keeping the name of recreation. 

Following various exchanges between council members and tasking the Parks and Recreation Board, the decision was to rename the facility to read Pauline Espinosa Community Hall. 

Pauline Espinosa, as stated in the council resolution, was a life-long resident of San Marcos and is recognized as an “unsung heroine” for her community stewardship and many contributions: providing jobs, donating food to those in need, providing credit to individuals so they could feed their families, and purchasing produce from local farms. 

The Parks and Recreation Board agrees with the Council for the Indigenous and Tejano Community who found that Ms. Espinosa’s vast community experience, unparalleled work ethic, and commitment to the community made her the best selection for this honor. 

According to the resolution, the city council authorizes the Interim City Manager to install any signs and recognition plaques reflecting the new name of the facility as may be appropriate and declare an effective date.  

To watch the full meeting visit, http://san-marcos-tx.granicus.com/player/clip/1815?view_id=9&redirect=true, or for those looking to watch the regularly scheduled Tuesday meeting at 6 p.m., you can do so at http://san-marcos-tx.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=9.