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Privately funded Alpine sculpture garden moves forward as council weighs loss of mature trees
Summary
Organizers said the sculpture garden is privately funded and a $1.5 million family pledge is pending; designers warned three mature trees would be removed for a central gazebo, prompting council debate about timing and whether to wait for more committed fundraising before site work.
Bob Hanson, presenting on the sculpture-garden project, said the garden is entirely privately funded and that "right now, 1,500,000 is pending" from a family pledge as fundraising continues. He also said the project team intends to present a planting plan and gazebo design for council consideration on Aug. 25 and hopes to unveil the garden at Alpine Days next year.
Designers showed plans and a planting map, and flagged a design tradeoff: the proposed gazebo sits in the circular area where three mature trees now stand. City staff and several council members said replacing a few mature trees with more numerous younger trees was a tradeoff in favor of a more active civic space; others urged caution and asked that funding be substantially committed before disturbing mature landscape elements. One council member said she would "prefer to wait, and make sure you have the funding at least to a comfort level" before removing large trees.
Council and staff discussed phased construction if fundraising lags, whether to proceed with site prep, and options to preserve elements of the existing landscape. Staff noted the plan and landscaping have already been reviewed by the planning commission and that if large trees remain, the design would need rework. The project team agreed to provide a phasing plan and additional fundraising benchmarks for council consideration.
