Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health Community topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Family seeks permission and partial reimbursement for suicide-prevention plaque at Estacada Skatepark
Summary
A local resident asked the council to allow a plaque with suicide-prevention resources to be installed next to an existing memorial bench and asked whether the city could reimburse a portion of the $500 restoration cost.
At the council’s citizen comment period, Shirley Burke presented a plaque she and family members want to install next to a memorial bench at the Estacada Skatepark honoring Hayden Schaeffer and asked whether the city could reimburse part of the roughly $500 restoration expense.
Burke said the bench — placed in February 2013 and recently restored by a private donor — commemorates a young person who died by suicide, and the proposed plaque would provide a message and contact information for youth in crisis. “We would like to put the sign up behind the bench,” Burke told the council, and she said her husband and other volunteers would handle installation.
Why it matters: Councilors expressed general support for the idea as a community suicide-prevention measure. Melanie (city manager) and other staff said the city could post the sign and would look into whether a partial reimbursement from park maintenance funds was available.
Council response Council members praised the project and said they supported posting the plaque in the skatepark. Staff committed to examining maintenance-policy implications and whether a portion of the $500 cost could be reimbursed to the bench’s donor.
Ending: The council directed staff to follow up with Ms. Burke about installation logistics and reimbursement options.
