Council favors Option 1 for Pat Halsey Park memorial garden, asks staff to advance design and pricing

Blake Coleman of TBG Partners presented two conceptual designs for a memorial garden at Pat Halsey Park and said both options are estimated at roughly $250,000, developed with family and staff input to honor four victims found on the property.

Coleman said Option 1 places four vertical panels inside an enclosed, vegetated space with a central kidney‑bean lawn intended for gatherings and quiet reflection. "We were really inspired by just the idea...you can actually touch the names," Coleman said, noting material and detailing choices (including laser‑cut panels and steel like Corten/core 10) could be adapted.

Option 2, Coleman said, uses a more circuitous path and a retaining landform with a metal wall engraved with names — an approach he likened to the Vietnam Memorial — to create a figurative journey into the memorial.

The chair clarified the project scope: "This is being made for the 4 victims that were physically found on this property," and staff reiterated the memorial is focused on those four because of their proximity to the site. One council member urged expanding the memorial to reflect a broader set of victims; another council member said Option 1 better accommodates gatherings such as candlelight vigils and suggested incorporating oak trees as symbolic plantings.

Coleman told council that much of the earthwork, irrigation and landscaping are already budgeted as part of the larger park project, reducing incremental costs; both memorial options were presented as achievable within an approximate $250,000 allowance. He provided a scale reference — roughly 40 feet on the drawing with the central lawn appearing roughly 80–100 feet in length — and said final dimensions would be confirmed during detailed design.

Staff said the design team is at the tail end of construction document work and recommended using a change order to add the memorial into the awarded park contract if council agrees on a price, or to build it after park construction as an alternate. The current target window for park construction presented to council was May 26, 2026 through April 2028 (an 18–24 month construction period under the current schedule).

Council members expressed a clear preference for Option 1’s layout, asking staff and the consultant to refine monument aesthetics and explore oak‑tree integration and tasteful lighting. Staff said they will present a formal proposal and pricing for council approval and will try to include grading in the base bid to avoid delaying the park contractor.

The work session concluded with staff confirming next steps: refine the preferred concept, develop a proposal and cost estimate, and return to council with procurement options — either a change order into the park contract or a post‑construction build. The chair adjourned the work session at 05:25 PM.