Broadway Avenue will continue to keep its name - for now.
On its Aug. 2 meeting, the Muncie City Council could not reach a majority opinion either way on deciding to rename Broadway Avenue to Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
A mediation group created the proposed ordinance, which contained what members called a compromise. If the council had passed the ordinance, Broadway Avenue from its start in downtown Muncie to McGalliard Avenue would be memorialized Martin Luther King Boulevard for two years before it was permanently renamed. The memorialization was created to give businesses time to change their addresses.
The original proposal, created in the summer of 2003, called for the entire street to be renamed.
"This is the best compromise we could come up with," Thomas Perchlik, pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Church and chairman of the group, said.
Despite the mediation group reaching a compromise, several citizens spoke out against the ordinance at the meeting.
Viginia Randall, owner of Off-Broadway Antique Mall, said 15 to 20 percent of her income goes to advertising, which would have to be changed if she got a new address.
"A change of address is an inconvenience I don't want to deal with," Randall said.
Randall also said that Muncie has Martin Luther King Bouelvard. The current boulevard is located off of Tillotson Avenue, but black leaders say the road is unkempt and out of the way.
Mary Stilts, of Mock Avenue, suggested renaming a portion of McCulloch Park in honor of King.
However, Perchlik said the group had already discussed alternatives and decided they were not befitting.
The ordinance did find support from some community members.
Muncie resident Mary Jay Black said that she and her son were able to find common ground in their agreement that Broadway Avenue should be renamed.
"Please let me go home tonight feeling pride and not shame in my community," Black said.
Council members Alison Quirk, Monte Murphy and Jack Isenbarger voted in favor of the ordinance. David Taylor and Sam Marshall voted against it while Mary Jo Barton, Bruce Weimer and Chuck Leonard abstained. Bill Shroyer did not attend the meeting because of a death in the family.
Taylor said the loss to businesses was not worth renaming Broadway Avenue, but he did support memorializing the street.
Weimer said he believed the law gave only the mayor the power to rename a street, which is why he did not vote in favor of the ordinance.
Mayor Dan Canan said he supports renaming Broadway Avenue. However, he said he would not rename it without the ordinance passing the council because he has been advised he does not have the power to do so and because the federal mediator suggested this was the process that should be used.
Because the council could not reach a majority either way, Steve Carter, city attorney, said the vote was canceled and would be counted as if it hadn't happened.
The mediation group could bring it before the council at its next meeting because the council did not vote against it.
Black leaders in Muncie have worked to rename Broadway Avenue since January 2003. The council voted last summer against the first ordinance created, though. The vote sparked a protest and caused the city to bring in a federal mediator for both sides. The mediator helped lead the city to decide to create the mediation group.
Murphy said on July 15 that if the council did not pass the ordidnance, he would continue to fight to rename Broadway Avenue.
"If it doesn't pass, this issue will not go away," Murphy said.
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