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Taller council forms small committee and keeps Cesar Chavez monument covered after heated public testimony
Summary
Following national reporting and local objections, the council voted to form a two-councilmember/two-park-commissioner committee to solicit public input on the future of Cesar Chavez Memorial Park and ordered the park sign kept covered temporarily for safety while staff researches title and maintenance responsibilities.
The Taller City Council on April 7 directed staff to form a four-person committee and to keep the Cesar Chavez Memorial Park sign covered temporarily after an extended public comment period that drew both former farmworkers and residents who urged different outcomes.
City Manager Mark Mandell told the council staff covered the sign after a conversation between the mayor and one councilmember and because staff had received threats connected to the controversy. "Staff complied with that request and we went out and covered it," he said.
Speakers at the meeting split between preserving the monument and renaming or re-framing the park to honor farmworkers broadly. Roberto Bustos, who described himself as a march leader from six decades ago, urged the council to leave the statue intact: "Don't mess with it. Don't mess with it," he said. Other community members called for an organized public process and a survey to measure public sentiment.
Council members agreed to a staged process: staff will immediately research property ownership, chain of title and any maintenance agreements; the council will appoint two members to a temporary 2x2 committee pairing two councilmembers with two parks commissioners; that committee will hold publicly noticed meetings and collect input and a survey; the first committee meeting will not occur until ownership and title questions are answered.
The council also said it would keep the monument covered for the moment to protect the site from vandalism and to reduce tensions during upcoming events. Council members emphasized they were not taking a final position on renaming or removal and asked staff to return with factual findings and a schedule for the committee and outreach.
Next steps: staff will procure a title/chain-of-title review, notify the school district (which currently shows on county records as an owner), set up a public contact list for the committee and return to council with recommended committee members and a timeline.
