Local resident urges broader outreach, veteran involvement in 9/11 memorial planning

Kim Jones, a Cleburne resident, used late public comment time to raise concerns about the planning process for a 9/11 memorial and the lack of recent public updates. Jones said the project has seen multiple committees over more than a decade and that public input opportunities have been limited. "There are some people who were around 12 years ago ... very disappointed," Jones said, and she urged the city to solicit broader input and include veterans in the committee composition.

Jones also flagged the approaching 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 and said the timeline made a broader public process more urgent. "I haven't seen any notices for public input," she said. "We have 13 months. There was supposed to be some public input."

Councilmembers responded that the project has a complex history and that staff and council would provide updates. The presiding official said the memorial originally began as a first-responders project and later involved veterans and the chamber; council members said they did not want the effort politicized and pledged to keep the resident informed. The council did not take action on the memorial during the meeting.