Residents and Friends group press board to prioritize memorial repairs and form maintenance committee ahead of park centennial

Multiple residents and volunteer groups urged the Memorial Park Board to prioritize repair and maintenance of park memorials, citing long-standing neglect at several sites.

Resident Steve Peckinpah spoke during public comment that the Big 4 Memorial and other monuments are overgrown and in need of repair. He said the situation had persisted for years and asked the board to place a higher priority on repairing and maintaining memorials. The Friends of the Park said they can undertake projects in phases and recommended creating a prioritized wish list of monuments that need attention.

Several speakers recommended forming a memorials committee that would include representatives from veterans organizations such as the American Legion and VFW, and Friends of Memorial Park representatives, to coordinate maintenance and fundraising. The board and volunteers discussed developing a schedule of tasks (weekly, monthly, yearly) and having service groups or businesses “adopt” specific monuments to bridge labor shortfalls while staff capacity increases.

Park and volunteer representatives also highlighted the coming centennial of the park next year and urged a coordinated publicity and fundraising push to leverage the anniversary for repairs, events and donor outreach.

Ending: Board members agreed to pursue a prioritized maintenance list and to reach out to veterans organizations and volunteers to form a committee or project teams to address immediate monument repairs and longer-term maintenance ahead of the park’s 100th anniversary.