A certain amount of controversy may be brewing over a proposal to change the name of Bothell’s Cedar Grove Park.

At the urging of a resident Marine veteran, Mayor Mark Lamb has suggested renaming Cedar Grove to Nicholas Madrazo Memorial Park, honoring the Bothell resident killed during U.S. military action in Afghanistan.

Opened in 2005, Cedar Grove sits at 22421 Ninth Ave., S.E., in the Canyon Park area near Interstate 405.

A Marine First Lieutenant, Madrazo, 25, died in Afghanistan Sept. 9, 2008, but not before earning a Bronze Star, according to resident Hugh Moag, who launched the idea of honoring Madrazo by renaming Cedar Grove.

“This is the kind of young man I think our community should honor,” Moag told Bothell City Council at its June 15 meeting.

Speaking prior to Moag, however, resident Barbara Premo said the park was named after her family’s mink farm, which was one of a large number of such farms once in Bothell.

According to Premo, her parents insisted the park be named after the farm when they sold the property that became the park to the city. Premo contends naming the park “Cedar Grove” was part of the sales agreement.

Premo added her parents, now both in their late 80s, still live in the area.

“It would be devastating to change this now,” Premo said.

Speaking during the council meeting, Lamb said to his knowledge the name of the park was not a condition of the original sale.

Still, Lamb ultimately supported turning the issue over to the city parks board for further discussion, including any legal questions regarding the name. He did ask that the board act quickly so any name change can occur prior to the second anniversary of Madrazo’s death.

Responding to Premo’s comments, Councilman Del Spivey said the city could name a different park, possibly the North Creek Athletic Fields, in honor of Madrazo. Councilman Joshua Freed went a step further suggesting the overall athletic complex be dubbed “Veteran Field,” with individual fields named after local vets.

According to information provided at the time of his death by his family and the military, Madrazo was killed by a roadside bomb while supporting combat operations in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan.

Madrazo was on his first combat tour, working with the Afghan National Army and French forces.

Madrazo graduated from Bothell High in 2001 and became a Marine officer through Seattle Pacific University’s Navy ROTC program. Joining a friend he had met in the Marines, he volunteered for duty in Afghanistan.

Moag said he attended Madrazo’s funeral and eventually came to know the veteran’s family. He described Madrazo as a happy young man who shared his strong spirit.

“He gave joy… right from the start,” Moag said.