A public hearing was held during the Syracuse City Council meeting on July 6, 2026, to consider a proposal to name a baseball field or concession stand at Homer Wheaton Park after Alphonse "Al" Gunn, a longtime youth baseball coach. Two members of the public spoke in favor of the proposal, and no opposition was voiced. The hearing was closed, and the legislation will be taken up during the regular order of business.
Now the time and a place for public hearing with a clerk, please read the short title. Yes. We have one card here from Sherl Stan Collins. Charleston. All right. I agree. Actually, I didn't think it's baseball part. Well, but anyway, Pat had the part for stuff for it to work. Very clear. But um, this part should be named Al Ponzi. Not just the concession. Many years. So many children. He did more for them than anybody ever did in the city. As far as I'll pick them off, drop them off. Way more than I did. Way more than I did. And not just the city, the kids for the uh the kids on the east side. He has teams all around. We have uh five, six different uh five zip codes, I think, that we draw kids from. Uh I think right now the kids from the west side are playing. They're using Kirk Park down there. You see Kirk Park being used. Uh we had um uh um Westmoreland Park back in the days. We had uh Lower Onadaga we use, I believe. No, that was the other program. But we had Homer Wheaton up there. So he's been doing this for many years. I think he deserves more than just a concession stand named after him. This man really deserves more than that, and I think the park should be not the park, but the the baseball field of it. I understand the park is named after Homer Wheaton, first person from the area that died in World War One. I understand that that's a big feat, and I don't think Coach Guns may be able to handle that more. Top that one, but the field should be named after him. Thank you. Excuse me. Excuse me, Carton. Um, I don't see the commissioner parks here, but that um that admission was uh discussed earlier with uh counselor codwell. Um once I talked to the department of law, if we can amend um the um the legislation, she had have agreed to um uh doing so. So more would be revealed on that, Councillor Cottwell. Okay, sorry about that. Good evening. I wasn't gonna say anything, but I just thought of something. My name is Phil Turner. I'm pastor at Bethany Baptist Church on the east side of the city. I also want to uh express that uh Alphonse Alphonse Gunn has been a deacon at Bethany Baptist Church for over 20 years, and represent the team that he coaches represents our church, and they are the Bethany disciples, in case you didn't know. Uh I think they've at one time with the with the with the black barons, uh, and so uh not only has he been a coach for all this time, connecting with families and parents, but he also brings the baseball players to church, and he has been doing this uh for the last as far as back as I can remember, and uh everybody knows when the baseball players are in church, don't ask me how, but they know because things are a little different when the baseball guys come in. But I just wanted to give that confession and testimony that Deacon Gunn is not just the baseball coach, but he's also a man of God, and he's also a community connection for the church and young people and families. Thank you. Is there anyone else here to speak in favor of the proposal? Is there anyone else here to speak in favor of the proposal?