Committee seeks council blessing for Billy Wagner Tribute Park on Main Street

A local committee on behalf of the Billy Wagner Tribute Park asked the Town of Tazewell council Wednesday for continued support to develop a commemorative park on Main Street honoring Tazewell native and Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Billy Wagner.

The committee told council the park is intended both as a memorial to Wagner and as a tourism and economic-development asset. A committee representative said the preferred location is a corner of Main Street where drivers and pedestrians will see a statue as they pass and that the design will preserve existing event space including the annual tree-lighting and community singing.

"With strong community support, the Billy Wagner Tribute Park on Main Street is moving forward," the presenter said, describing an outreach effort that has engaged local businesses, artists and town leaders. The presenter said committee members have met four times since April 27 and are working to secure grant funding, local fundraising and other partnerships to mitigate town costs.

Artists Mariah Curtis and Linda Solenowski described siting choices and aesthetic considerations for a life-size statue and surrounding plaza. "When you're driving down Main, you'll see it as you're driving down Main on your left," Mariah Curtis said, explaining why the artists recommended placing the sculpture toward the street edge rather than farther back in the park.

The committee said it has consulted an engineer for site stability work and expects a six-week study including core drilling to confirm the lot can support a roughly one- to one-and-a-half‑ton statue and related courtyard features. The presenter said the committee is pursuing tourism and revitalization grants and that the town's Industrial Development Authority (IDA) has expressed support for the site.

Committee members named on the record included Brad Pyatt (identified by the presenter as the project's manager) and artists Mariah Curtis and Linda Solenowski. The presenter said Billy Wagner has reviewed images of the proposed statue and has approved the concept.

The committee asked the council for the town's continued endorsement and said it will return with detailed design drawings and engineering reports before any town commitment of funds or land. No formal vote or town-commitment was recorded during the presentation; councilors asked for future renderings and follow-up on grants and site engineering before taking further action.

The council did not adopt any ordinance or allocate funding during the presentation; the committee said it expects to return with a finished rendition for public review once structural analyses and fundraising steps are complete.