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Paso Robles council endorses preliminary Veterans Park monument concept and clears way for fundraising
Summary
The Paso Robles City Council unanimously endorsed a preliminary monument concept for Veterans Park on May 19, finding the project exempt from CEQA and allowing VFW Post 10965 and American Legion Post 50 to begin fundraising and next‑phase engineering. The 20‑foot‑plus sculptural concept includes six blades, a raised olive wreath, donor pavers and hanging dog tags.
The Paso Robles City Council voted unanimously May 19 to endorse a preliminary concept for a veterans monument in Veterans Park and to allow local veterans’ groups to proceed with fundraising and preliminary engineering.
City recreation program coordinator Wyatt Lund told the council the concept — created with VFW Post 10965 and local artist Max Randolph — would place six 20‑foot sculptural blades anchored by an elevated olive wreath in the former playground area south of the Veterans Memorial Building. Lund said the monument would include ground‑level lighting, engraved paver bricks and suspended dog tags, with proceeds to benefit the VFW and American Legion posts.
“Paso Robles currently does not have a veterans monument in any of its public parks,” Lund said, explaining the site selection and basic materials. Post commander Leo Castillo said the design is intended as a place of reflection and celebration, and emphasized the symbolic pairing of swords and an olive wreath. “This monument will not only be a statement … but rather a place of reflection and celebration for the lives our veterans have led,” Castillo said.
Artist Max Randolph described materials and scale and said engineering conversations are already underway. “I was deeply honored when Leo reached out to me to build this thing,” Randolph said, noting plans for weathering steel blades and a copper wreath that will patina over time and for the dog tags to create an audible, tactile element.
Council discussion focused on safety, lighting, the size of the installation (roughly an 18‑ to 20‑foot diameter for the wreath and more than 20 feet in height), and logistical questions of how donated dog tags would be installed and periodically maintained. Staff said endorsement would allow the VFW and American Legion to implement a fundraising campaign and progress to structural engineering and cost estimation; final design, construction and installation would return to council for approval.
Councilmember Tim Gregory moved to find the project exempt from CEQA review and to approve the preliminary monument concept; the motion was seconded and passed on a unanimous vote. The council cited CEQA categorical or statutory exemption language in making the finding and clarified that final design, engineering, construction and funding will require subsequent council review and approval.
Next steps: fundraising and final engineering, a more detailed cost estimate and a future council review of final design and construction approvals. The VFW and American Legion indicated they would manage donor programs (dog tags and paver bricks) and ongoing maintenance.
The council’s endorsement does not authorize construction; it only authorizes the project to move to the next planning and fundraising phases.
