Surprise move to rename center for former mayor Brewer delayed after plea from widow
An effort to honor former Mayor Carl Brewer by renaming a city recreation center was delayed Tuesday, after his widow asked the Wichita City Council to hold back until his family has a chance to discuss it more.
The move to rename the McAdams Recreation Center, which is slated for a $7.9 million renovation, was intended by city officials to surprise the family.
In the event, it turned out to be a little too much of a surprise.
Brewer’s widow, Cathy, came to the City Hall lectern to ask for a delay, speaking just after a woman who thought the city would be renaming the entire McAdams Park for Brewer.
Although council member Brandon Johnson confirmed that only the recreation center inside the park would be renamed and not the whole park, Cathy Brewer expressed concern that the matter was brought up suddenly with little time for family and community to consider the implications.
“This was a real surprise for me,” she said. “The last woman that spoke, I kind of had the same thoughts. I didn’t want to take anything away from Mr. McAdams and his contributions.”
The park and the recreation center are named for the late Emerson McAdams, a former city police officer who went on to work for 27 years in the parks department. The naming took place in 1966, the year after he died.
“What I would ask the council is could we please hold off on this (renaming the center) until the family gets a chance to discuss it more?” Cathy Brewer said. “Because I don’t want to cause any problems with the community even if it’s just a rec center. It’s just what I would appreciate if the family would have an opportunity to discuss this because we didn’t know about this.”
Council members quickly granted her request.
Council member Jeff Blubaugh, the only one still in office who served with Brewer, said he was a “good friend.”
“There’s so many things he did for our city, our community,” Blubaugh said. “I want to do this right and make sure whatever we name after former Mayor Brewer is completely on. I just take this task very importantly and want to make sure it’s supported by the family and supported by the community.”
Council member Becky Tuttle said she appreciated Cathy Brewer for bringing her concerns to the meeting.
“I know it took a lot of courage for you to come here today and to do that and thank you for being here,” she said.
Johnson made a motion to delay the renaming decision for a month. The council voted unanimously to defer it to Sept. 21.
Brewer died in June of last year at the age of 63, after an extended illness.
The city’s first elected Black mayor, he served on the city council or as mayor from 2001 to 2015, the maximum terms that Wichita law allows its city officials.
He ran unsuccessfully for Kansas governor in 2018.
Brewer was a tireless booster for downtown Wichita and oversaw major redevelopment of that area. He also was a key figure in the development of Wichita Eisenhower National Airport and the replacement of the aging terminal at the city-owned airport.
This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 2:39 PM.
