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Salina advisory board backs relocating Earl J. Bondi memorial to Berkeley Family Recreation Area
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Summary
After public comment split between preserving the monument at Sunset Park and moving it where more users see it, the Parks and Rec Advisory Board recommended the city commission approve relocating the Earl J. Bondi memorial to Fields 1–2 at Berkeley Family Recreational Area and advancing the municipal naming process.
The Salina Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Jan. 21 recommended the City Commission consider relocating the Earl J. Bondi memorial from its longtime site south of Sunset Park to Fields 1 and 2 at the Berkeley Family Recreational Area.
Staff opened a public hearing on a municipal naming application, explained the multi‑step naming process and said a city clerk affidavit confirmed the request conforms to the Salina municipal facilities naming guidelines. The city commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the request on the second Monday in February, staff said.
Residents and veteran volunteers were sharply split in comments. Jackie Bedrickson Connor Pester, who said she lives across from Sunset Ball Diamond and has longstanding family ties to the field, urged the board not to move the memorial, saying the marker “was there for the legacy of Earl” and the monument’s location is part of that legacy. She added she and the Bondi family prefer the memorial remain at Sunset (Jackie Bedrickson Connor Pester, public comment).
Others argued the memorial would get greater visibility at Berkeley Family Recreational Area, where youth leagues and tournaments are concentrated. “More people need to know about him and more people need to know what impact he had on youth sports in Salina,” said Flurry Breedingham, who described playing on the original diamonds and supporting the move so the memorial sits where “most of the action is.” Former Salina Journal sports writer Harold Bichard also urged relocation so young people at BFRA would “get to read about Earl Bondi.”
Staff noted logistic issues and costs associated with relocating a heavy granite monument and said planned 2026 concrete improvements between Fields 1 and 2 could incorporate a new site and meet ADA considerations for nearby drinking‑fountain accessibility. The memorial inscription, staff said, records that Earl J. Bondi (1917–1990) dedicated his life to organizing youth sports and was honored with a dedication on 07/09/1999.
After discussion the board voted to recommend the relocation and naming change be forwarded to the City Commission. The recommendation will be considered at the commission’s public hearing; no final municipal action was taken by the board itself.
Next steps: the City Commission will hold its public hearing and decide whether to authorize the renaming and relocation; staff said signage changes and minor sign resurfacing would create a modest cost and that moving the granite memorial would require staff time or outside expertise.
Authorities, process: staff said the request conforms to the Salina Municipal Facilities Naming Guidelines and that Nikki Goding, the city clerk, provided an affidavit verifying the application met procedural requirements. The board emphasized the policy generally prohibits having two distinct municipal facilities with the same name, which shaped discussion about whether Bondi could remain at Sunset while being applied to BFRA.
