Seattle Parks and Recreation is inviting the public to submit potential names for the new Morgan Junction park by Monday April 6.

A petition has been circulating the West Seattle community to name the park after long-time Herald reporter Tim St. Clair, a former Morgan resident who died a year ago from pancreatic cancer.

The park sits on former monorail property and is yet to be named. One roadblock is that the Parks Department requires a person be deceased for three years before it considers naming a park after that person.

Exceptions have been made, and a petition is now circulating to request such an exception in St. Clair's case.

"We want to get several thousand signatures," said Pete Spalding, of the Delridge Neighborhood District Council, who has teamed up with Morgan Community Association’s Steve Sindiong, Chas Redmond, and Cindi Barker, to present the petition to area City Council member and Parks committee chair, Tom Rasmussen, who will then approach Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher.

The Southwest District Council has also partnered with Spalding's district on this push.

"We want to pay honor to Tim St. Clair's legacy," added Spalding. "We realize the tremendous benefit his reporting brought to the city and his neighborhood."

The petition deadline in April 4.

Morgan Junction park is being developed on newly acquired property at the southwest corner of California Avenue Southwest and Southwest Eddy Street. The city parks department acquired a .2 acre property at 6140 California Ave. S.W. in 2006, for a new neighborhood park in the heart of the Morgan Junction urban village.

Funding is coming from the 2000 Pro Parks Levy and a matching grant from the King County Conservation Futures Tax.

The levy also provided the funding for planning, design,and construction of the park. The result of two public meetings developed a design for a piazza-like space with green edges, a U-shaped public gathering space with seating, a central lawn, and a prominent tree located at the southwest corner of the property.

The Parks department is also seeking a name for a new park in the Northgate Urban Center

The Park Naming Committee is comprised of one representative designated by the Board of Park Commissioners, one by the Chair of the City Council Parks and Seattle Center Committee, and one by the Parks Superintendent.

Criteria the committee considers in naming parks include: geographical location, historical or cultural significance, and natural or geological features.

A park may be named for a person no longer living (deceased a minimum of three years) who made a significant contribution to parks and/or recreation. The Park Naming Committee will consider all suggestions and make a recommendation to Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher, who makes the final decision.

Suggestions need to be submitted in writing by Monday, April 6, 2009, and include an explanation of how the suggestion matches the naming criteria.

Send to Seattle Parks and Recreation, Park Naming Committee, 100 Dexter Ave. N, Seattle, WA 98109, or by e-mail to paula.hoff@seattle.gov.

To sign the petition, contact Pete Spalding at 4107 20th Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98106 or contact bayouwonder@msn.com or call 206.579.4373.

Steve Shay contributed to this report.