Committee formed to study veteran’s memorial sites

Clear Lake Mayor Nelson Crabb announced Monday a committee has been chosen to study the hotly debated location for a proposed Veteran’s Memorial.

Crabb told the City Council a seven-member committee is in place to review all possible location for a Veteran’s Memorial and make a recommendation to the Council.

The issue dates back to June when members of V.F.W. Post 4868 approached the Council to gauge its support for a memorial to be constructed at the Sea Wall.  Council members seemed to approve of the idea, but never made a formal vote.  Instead, the issue was sent to the City’s Parks and Recreation Board which oversees the city’s parks.  The Parks Board denied the request to build the memorial, proposed as three flag poles and three five-foot granite walls, by a 5-1 vote.  Board members opposed to the idea said they felt the memorial might obstruct the view of the lake and did not feel the site was entirely appropriate.  The Board sent its vote, as well as a recommendation to form a task force to study the issue to the City Council.

In August, the Council affirmed the P&R Board’s decision with a 3-2 vote against placing the memorial at the Sea Wall.

The newly-named task force consists of: Amy Hogg, a member of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board; Dave Parks and Eldon Vine, members of the Clear Lake VFW; retired pastor Dean Hess; realtor Diana Symonds; City Councilman Dana Brant; and Nicole Olson, an attorney and community member at large.

Crabb said there is no timeline for the group to complete its review of possible sites, which he says includes the Sea Wall location.