HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Council now has at least two requests for renaming Avenue A Park. The council spent considerable time discussing the park after a request to name it “Smallville Park.”

But others also came before the council asking that the park be named after Hutchinson native Chester Lewis. Lewis was a leader in the NAACP and was a leader in pushing for civil rights in central Kansas. Darrell Pope said it would be better to name the park after a prominent person in the city rather than something related to a comic figure.

The city is connected with Smallville as the official birthplace of Superman and holds the Smallville Con each year. Chris Wietrick, one of the people behind the Smallville movement, has a number of supporters.

The 20-year-old park is in need of a facelift and Wietrick feels the name change could spur more pride in the park. He thinks it could push the renovation along Avenue A and Main. The park is the only one in the city that is not named for a person or neighborhood.

The council took no action, but will conduct a study and eventually decide how the park should be renamed, if at all.