HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 3a - Conceptual Design of the Veterans Memorial
DATE: October 3, 2017 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Dominic Lazzaretto, City Manager
By: Michael Bruckner, Assistant to the City Manager SUBJECT: APPROVE THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF THE VETERANS
MEMORIAL AT THE ARCADIA COMMUNITY CENTER
Recommendation: Approve
SUMMARY
At the August 1, 2017, City Council meeting, the City Council accepted a donation from
the Rotary Club of Arcadia (“Rotary”) to furnish and install a Veterans Memorial at the
Arcadia Community Center. As was discussed during the meeting, the Rotary Club has
raised over $35,000 for this effort. The Memorial will be general in its recognition to honor all branches of the United States Military. Although there are monuments and
memorials honoring specific wars and Arcadians who have served, no memorial exists
in the City to pay tribute to all who have served in our nation’s military.
Rotary has retained the services of Permeco, a custom monument design firm that has extensive experience creating veteran and civic memorials throughout California. The
proposed design (Attachment 1) will include seven pieces of polished black granite with
laser-etched imagery and quotations for each major service branch, including a
memorial for the Merchant Marines. The center stone will be general in its recognition of
veterans and will be center-aligned with the flag pole already installed at the Arcadia Community Center. The tops of the granite pieces will be left jagged and unfinished to
create a visual representation of the San Gabriel Mountains. A more detailed
description of the monument’s design is provided in the Discussion section below. With
City Council’s approval of the conceptual design, the Rotary Club will instruct Permeco
to acquire the granite, which will take several months to receive, and begin their work to construct the memorial. Based on the design and its aesthetic appeal, it is
recommended that the City Council approve the conceptual design of the Veterans
Memorial.
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BACKGROUND
The Rotary Club of Arcadia was founded October 27, 1927, and incorporated in 1942.
Rotary is the fourth largest club in Rotary District 5300, which covers portions of
Southern California and Southern Nevada. Their membership represents a broad spectrum of the business and professional community in the Arcadia area. Their stated purpose is “Service Above Self” and their mission is to provide humanitarian
service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and
peace in the world.
Rotary has been an active community partner in the City of Arcadia. Among other activities, they previously donated the community clock that sits in the center median on
Huntington Dr. near the main entrance to Santa Anita Park and last year provided funds
to rehabilitate the Peacock Fountain at Arcadia County Park.
As part of their continuing efforts to honor those who have served in our nation’s Armed Forces, Rotary has sponsored the Field of Honor tribute at Arcadia Park during
Memorial Day for the past two years. Proceeds from the Field of Honor are intended to
go toward furnishing and installing a Veterans Memorial to be placed on City property.
DISCUSSION
Rotary has raised approximately $10,000 in donations for the proposed Memorial and
Arcadia resident, Mary Hansen, has pledged an additional $20,000 to furnish and install
the Memorial. In addition, Santa Anita Park has also pledged $5,000 towards the new monument. With the $35,000 in real and pledged funds, Rotary is prepared to move forward with the design of the Memorial. Rotary has retained the services of Permeco, a
custom monument design firm that has extensive experience creating veteran and civic
memorials throughout California.
The lawn area near the main entrance to the Arcadia Community Center was approved by the City Council at its meeting on August 1, 2017, due to the high volume of foot
traffic and visitors to the Center on a daily basis. In addition, because the Arcadia
Community Center functions as the City’s Senior Center before noon each day, it is an
ideal location to honor Arcadia veterans who frequent the facility. The approved location of the Memorial is on the grassy area to the south of the main entrance (Attachment 2).
The Memorial will consist of seven pieces of polished black granite in a row ranging
from approximately 5 feet in height at the right and left ends pieces, to a center stone
maximum height of 6 feet. The width of the stone pieces will be from a range of 2 feet at the right end left end pieces, to a center stone width of 2 1/2 feet. The gaps between each stone will be 3 inches. The overall length of the monument will be 17 1/3 feet. The
center stone will visually align the flagpole already installed at the location. The
monument will have a slight arc in its formation, and will bow inward or toward the
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center, at about 1 1/2 feet from the ends toward the center. The tops of the stone pieces will be jagged and unfinished to symbolize the San Gabriel Mountains that are the
backdrop of our community. The base of the monument will be brick pavers and will
match the existing color and shape of the Arcadia Community Center to ensure a
consistent aesthetic. Permeco is working on a rendering to visually demonstrate the design, size, and scale of the Memorial as it would look installed at the site; however, the rendering will not be available until the October 3, 2017, City Council meeting. The
City created a mock-up of the memorial based on the design provided (Attachment 4).
The design of the individual pieces will include imagery that will be laser-etched into the granite for each service branch (Attachment 3). The imagery will provide examples of uniformed personal, military equipment, or other symbolism that shows the change in
the representation of each individual service over time. For example, the Marine stone
may show an infantryman in a WWII uniform juxtaposed with the formal dress of a
modern Marine. On the backside of the stone, quotations or other sayings, which will be either patriotic in nature or attributable to a particular service branch, will be engraved in the stone.
There is sufficient space for the Memorial and the proposed design is contemporary and
appropriate for a monument of this nature; however, some infrastructure improvements may need to be made in order for the installation to occur. These include:
• Adjustment of surface drainage
• Irrigation and landscape adjustments
• Electrical improvements
• Potential removal of a Canary Island Pine Tree
• Potential ADA improvements to access the site
With the exception of the ADA requirements, the required facility improvements are
estimated at approximately $2,000 for materials and supplies, and the work can be performed either in-house with existing staff or through the City’s existing contractual
agreements. For example, West Coast Arborist would be the preferred vendor to
remove the Canary Island Pine. There is a slight grade at the site location for the
Memorial and, given the design, some ADA improvements may be necessary in order
for disabled patrons to access the monument. Staff will work closely with Rotary to ensure that the Memorial will be accessible to all who wish to view it. Given the design
and materials used, ongoing maintenance will be insignificant.
With the approval of conceptual design, Rotary will instruct Permeco to finalize the
design and the acquisition process of the granite. Once the details of the project are finalized, City staff and Permeco will work closely to ensure the successful installation of
the Memorial.
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FISCAL IMPACT
The Rotary Club of Arcadia has commitments totaling at least $35,000 for this project.
Preliminary cost estimates for the monument are $30,000. The required facility improvements for the site are estimated at approximately $2,000, plus any ADA improvements that may be necessary, which should be nominal.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended the City Council approve the conceptual design of the Veterans Memorial at the Arcadia Community Center.
Attachment: 1. Proposed Design 2. Site Location
3. Laser-Etching Example
4. Mock-Up