EVERETT — The City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to rename a North Everett park after the late City Councilman Drew Nielsen, who helped preserve the half-acre parcel from development long before he sought elected office.
The new name for the park at 13th Street and Colby Avenue will be the Drew Nielsen Neighborhood Park. The Everett Historical Commission recommended the change last month.
Nielsen died May 12, 2012 in a rafting accident. He had served on the City Council since 2004.
The property had been owned since the late 1960s by what is now Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. Nielsen was a leader during the 1990s in convincing the hospital not to expand west into the neighborhood where he lived. Later, Nielsen, a lawyer by profession, helped build the gazebo and pergola at the park.
Nielsen also was an avid cyclist. A Bike to Work Day event Friday morning will begin with a moment of silence in his memory. Starting at 7:30 a.m., Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson plans to lead a short ride from the corner of Wall Street and Oakes Avenue to Everett Station.
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