Simpsonville City Park is getting its old name back. The Simpsonville City Council voted 4-2 to restore the park's original title, undoing a 2024 decision that had renamed it Gracely Park after former City Administrator Dianna Gracely. The city is also weighing whether to replace or alter the park's monument sign, though officials say the timeline for that depends on the ordering process and schedule of whichever vendor is selected.
The reversal came through an amendment to an ordinance sponsored by Councilmember Chad O'Rear that sets new rules for naming city-owned properties and infrastructure, according to FOX Carolina. O'Rear's ordinance was written by an attorney not associated with the city and excludes roadways from its scope, the station reports. It applies retroactively to any noncompliant name approved after January 1, 2023, and O'Rear has said the ordinance is legal. Under the newly approved policy, as detailed by Greenville Journal, the city cannot name any public facility, building, park, or space after a living person, and must wait a full year after someone's death before honoring them with a city asset.
The 2026 vote had two dissenting councilmembers, Shannon Williams and Sherry Roche, per Greenville Journal. Roche argued the ordinance was unnecessary and said it restricts council's ability to honor citizens, according to the same report. FOX Carolina adds that Roche described the naming process behind the reversal as sneaky and alleged Gracely Park was named for someone O'Rear does not like; Roche also said council members can recognize people by naming city-owned or controlled properties after them.
A Renaming That Was Contentious From the Start
This isn't the first time the park's name has divided council. The original 2024 decision to rename Simpsonville City Park to Gracely Park passed by a narrow 4-3 vote, with O'Rear, Tim Pinkerton, and Lou Hutchings voting against it because they wanted the historic name preserved, according to the same Greenville Journal report. There had also been suggestions to name a specific park amenity after Gracely rather than the entire park.
Council supporters at the time pointed to Gracely's record. During her seven years as city administrator, she brought in more than $20 million in outside funding, per Greenville Journal's coverage of the original vote. FOX Carolina similarly reports Gracely secured more than $20 million in outside funding for Simpsonville. Gracely retired from Simpsonville in 2025, Greenville Journal reported.
Executive Session and a Delayed Vote
The path to Tuesday's decision wasn't straightforward. FOX Carolina reports council had delayed voting on the park-naming ordinance weeks earlier, and the Post and Courier reported that the council delayed the vote.
The park itself only recently finished a major overhaul. Simpsonville celebrated the redevelopment with a ribbon-cutting in June 2025 as part of a larger municipal complex project, according to Greenville Journal's reporting at the time. The park was known as Gracely Park before Tuesday's vote reversed the change.
New Rules Carve Out an Exception for Donors
The new ordinance isn't an absolute ban on naming properties after people. It allows city properties to be named for donors who contribute significant funds or land, provided the donor stipulates the naming requirement in writing as a condition of the gift, Greenville Journal reports. FOX Carolina describes the same provision as a proposed guideline that would allow a property to be named after someone who makes a sizable donation, while also requiring that a person be dead for a year before a property is named after them. The amendment does not extend to street names in Simpsonville, according to FOX Carolina's reporting.
The naming fight landed on the same meeting agenda as another administrative overhaul. Council also approved a $13,835 contract with CivicPlus to recodify the city's entire code of ordinances, a project Greenville Journal reports is expected to start between October 2026 and January 2027 and last 18 to 22 months. Between Gracely's 2025 retirement and the park vote, council had unanimously selected Tee Coker, former Assistant Greenville County Administrator, as the new city administrator under a four-year contract, with Coker taking the post in May 2025 ahead of Gracely's departure the following month, per Greenville Journal.
