06-12-2019 Workshop & Council Packet

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STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor Keis and Members of the City Council FROM: Bryce Shearen, Parks & Recreation/Community Services Manager DATE: June 7, 2019 RE: Firefighters Memorial BACKGROUND The Firefighters Historical Trail was donated in 2005 to honor the many firefighters that generously volunteer their time to protect the lives and property of the community. The trail utilizes a segment of the Water Works Right-of-Way, providing a scenic connection from Centerville Road to Spooner Park and Little Canada Road at McMenemy Street. The trail is flanked by grasslands and forest openings that provide great opportunities for wildlife viewing and native habitat. The trail is bordered on the north by Gervais Creek and is wooded on both sides. The trail entrance monument sign off of Centerville Road is need of major repair/replacement. The City budgeted $6,000 for the repair of the sign in 2019. The Little Canada Fire Department (LCFD) expressed some interest in helping fund the sign repair, but was also interested in a more comprehensive project for creating a Firefighter Memorial area that would honor members of LCFD. As you may recall, there are memorial benches along that trail that honor past Little Canada Fire Chiefs. A committee of LCFD members was formed and they started the discussion of building a memorial and funding the project. With the design and location of the memorial, it made sense to instead of replacing the current monument sign with something similar, to replace it with a sign that flows with the memorial and invites trail or memorial users to continue their experience. The LCFD contracted with a professional consultant to help with the design, and after almost a year of planning the memorial design, the LCFD has come up with a draft concept design. The memorial would be within the existing area between the upper and lower parking lot of the fire department. The main area of the design will be a concrete Maltese cross area and have a concave Corten Steel wall. The Corten Steel is popular amongst firefighter memorials due to the natural weathering of the wall. On the Corten wall, steel plaques honoring LCFD members that have retired from the department will be affixed to the wall (this will allow for an uncomplicated way to affix future plaques). Landscaping will be done throughout the area and include a bench. Staff has reviewed the design for any maintenance issues and has been involved in the design discussions along the way. To keep the memorial flowing to and from the Firefighters Historical Trial, a similar Corten wall was designed on the north side of the parking lot to replace the current monument sign. This Corten wall will have the same language, “Firefighters Historical Trail” engraved into the