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Park staff says Wilson Park monument is sound; wired in-tree lighting deemed impractical
Summary
Staff told the board Grama will handle Wilson Park bidding, State Historic Preservation Office consultants said the monument should remain in place and is 'in incredibly good condition,' and wired accent lighting in trees is impractical — staff proposed omitting it now and returning with options if funding allows.
The Board of Park Commissioners heard a staff update on the Wilson Park renovation, including the project bidding plan, a conservation assessment of a historic monument, and options for park lighting.
Marty, a parks staff member, said the city will ask Grama to prepare the bid packet because the engineering department cannot, and that bids are expected to be brought to the board in August before going to council. "We did confirm with Grama that they are able to bid the project," Marty said, and staff will include a contingency allowing contractors to finish work in the spring of 2027 if necessary to meet grant timelines.
The update stressed a two-year window tied to the project grant: "we have a 2 year window with our grant," Marty said, and staff want to keep the project moving so the city does not miss the construction season. Marty said leaving a contingency to complete work into spring 2027 should yield better bids and protect the grant schedule.
On lighting, staff reported that wiring accent lights into trees would require visible conduits and increase vandalism risk; the practical alternative is ground-mounted uplighting or targeted solar units. "Those are very, very — we have found that anything low level like that is an attractive nuisance for vandalism," Marty said. He said staff prefer not to pause the project for an in-tree solution but can continue researching options and could return with proposals at a later meeting or add lighting via change order if funding allows.
Board member Jim said he was disappointed that a wired uplighting solution was not found and urged staff to keep looking for feasible approaches such as buried fixtures used on nearby bridges. "I wanna put on the record my disappointment that this did not has that no solution has been found for this," Jim said, and asked staff to report back on what is used for the bridge lighting.
Marty also summarized findings from the State Historic Preservation Office and two approved contractors, RJ Jacques and Labe Restoration, who inspected the park monument. "Both of them concurred that the monument, A, should stay right where it is," Marty said, and that "the monument is in incredibly good condition." The contractors recommended limited maintenance — careful cleaning with nonabrasive soap and cloth, exposing the concrete base to breathe, sealing the concrete, and using linseed oil on the plaque if desired — rather than moving the structure, which they said could compromise it.
Staff said the monument work is optional because the structure is stable; if undertaken, the contractors reported the scale of work would be small and not sufficient to attract their crews for a standalone job. Marty said staff will bring bid documents to the board in August and then to council, leaving the months of September and October for construction before winter weather could interfere. "We are looking at bringing the bids to you in August," Marty said.
The board asked staff to continue researching lighting options and to report back on feasible uplighting systems (including what was used on the nearby bridge) at a future meeting. The board did not take formal action on lighting at this session.
