THE FLOWER MOUND PARK BOARD MEETING HELD ON THE 9TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2004, AT THE CENTRAL FIRE STATION, LOCATED AT 3838 FORUMS DRIVE, IN THE TOWN OF FLOWER MOUND, COUNTY OF DENTON, TEXAS AT 6:30 P.M.
The Park Board met in a regular session with the following members present:
Mike McCall - Chair
Ann Handren
Charissa Womack
Norma Krueger -Vice Chair
Peggie Kimberlin
Roy White
Wayne Farley
Randal Wilson - Alternate 1
The meeting was attended by the following members of the Town Staff:
Jackie Jones - Recreation Manager
Cordette Brown - Administrative Secretary
A. CALL TO ORDER
The Board met at 6:30 p.m. and went on a tour of the following:
1. Rustic Timbers by the Creek and Walgreen's
2. Tree Farm/Environmental Learning Center
3. Blue Bonnet Park
The Board returned to the Central Fire Station and the meeting was called to order at 8:10 p.m. by Chairperson, Mike McCall.
B. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - Chris Womack
C. CITIZENS/VISITORS COMMENTS TO THE PARK BOARD
Travis Perkins, 5035 Creekwood Drive, Flower Mound, thanked the Board for giving him the opportunity to address them. He also thanked the Mayor and Town staff for getting this item on the Agenda so quickly. He went on to inform the Board "on August 24th Flower Mound lost one of their best young men, Officer Jacob R. Lugo who was killed in combat in Iraq. To our knowledge Officer Lugo is the first resident in recent history to die in service to his country and as a result of this tragic loss; it is the desire of a number of residents to do something in his honor. The fact that Flower Mound at this time does not have a memorial park, I submitted to the Mayor that we rename Hilltop Park to the Jacob R. Lugo Memorial Park. Jacob spent quite a bit of his youth at Hilltop Park. He played ball there as a young man and at age 15 he umpired games there for another two years. The current name Hilltop has no enduring qualities for most of our citizens, we are not sure how it got its name other than it is on a hill, so no objection is expected from citizens regarding a name change if you decide to do so.
Jacob spent the majority of the last two (2) years of his life fighting for us. He never complained or questioned his service, in fact he was extremely proud to be a marine and having an opportunity to serve his country. That is the kind of courage that most of us, myself included, cannot understand, and because there are so many of these great individuals willing to do this for us, you and I probably will never have to face such a situation. This type of duty and service to his country deserves some type of everlasting recognition. By naming Hilltop Park in his honor, you will guarantee that thousands of young ball players will see the name Jacob Lugo and hopefully if they will ask their parents who he was, they will learn that he was a proud Marine from Flower Mound who died to keep them safe.
I know the question is going to come up, "what happens when another individual dies?" I included in the proposal that Lugo Memorial Park becomes the central memorial site for the Town and the construction of a memorial to which any future individuals so deserving can have their names attached. Other than the actual name of the park, any other person who is memorialized there will receive the same recognition as Jacob. I also propose that this memorial include not only military personnel but also our firefighters, law enforcement and any civilians who may die in the line of duty helping a fellow citizen. In this proposal I volunteer to spearhead this project and guarantee that no taxpayer money will be used for the design or dedication of this memorial. No Town staff will be needed except for consultation of design and code.
I realize a process has to be followed, so once again I would like to thank the Mayor and Town staff for acting so quickly on this item. It is human nature, in fact it is healthy to move on after a tragedy, and for this reason I am requesting that the name change be approved tonight or at least the general idea of the memorial so we can get the project underway. As people begin to move on with their lives, fund raising can become harder and harder. If you approve the name change, I will try to organize a group of volunteers by next week to begin the fundraising. Hopefully we can complete the project and be ready for dedication on the baseball opening day in spring. I realize that the name change is what you are asked to consider tonight, however I have provided an example of the type of memorial we have in mind (he showed a model). It is only a concept, not a final design. You might have noticed in my proposal to the Mayor, a copy of which you have, it is suggested that the name be changed to Jacob R. Lugo Memorial Park and the way it is mentioned in the agenda,"Jacob R. Lugo Hilltop Memorial Park" seems a bit cumbersome, that long name, so I want to offer a suggestion, "Jacob R. Lugo Memorial Park at Hilltop" which seems to flow a lot easier.
Originally we were thinking of putting the memorial at the entrance of the park but it was pointed out by some staff members that it was not a good location". He showed a scale model and went on to describe it and asked if there were any questions.
John Thomas, 5308 Timbercreek Road, Flower Mound, states that he has lived close to Hilltop Park for over twenty (20) years and he totally agrees with, and supports Travis Perkins position on having Hilltop Park renamed. He said the activity at the park which are primarily ball games and the Easter egg hunt added with the school across the street, and Mr. Lugo's connection with Hilltop, makes it an ideal location for this memorial. He too supports the idea of a future memorial beyond just for Mr. Lugo, where others can be honored.
D. CHAIR/BOARD MEMBER/STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS
Jackie Jones, Recreation Manager, spoke of the upcoming Grand Opening Celebration and Dedication of Bakersfield Park which will take place on Saturday, September 11, 2004, beginning at 9:00 am. He said, at present the park staff is fully engaged in getting done the final touches, the details that are needed to get the park ready for the grand opening celebration (a flyer is included in each Park Board member packet).
Between nine and ten o'clock there will be other activities in the park such as a rock climbing wall, a giant slide, an obstacle course and a couple of bounce houses for the kids. In addition, the FMYSA will be doing some skill sessions on three of the baseball fields, and the Youth Action Council will be doing tattoos.
At ten o'clock all activities will cease and the ceremony will begin.
Congressman Burgess will be taking the lead in a September 11 tribute to honor the first responders and other things regarding that date. In addition, the FMYSA and GLASA, the two organizations that will be using the facility, will have their representatives address the audience on what the park means to their organizations. The ceremonies will conclude with a first pitch and first kick.
After the ceremony, the Summit Club will be cooking hot dogs which will be given out for free along with free sodas from the concessionaire. There will also be free souvenir cups. The police and fire departments will also be represented. He said the park is truly spectacular and he invited everyone to come out and share in the activities.
Peggie Kimberlin said she enjoyed the tour even though they missed the Equestrian Trailhead and hope that will be at the top of the list of the next Park Board tour.
Norma Krueger also said she enjoyed the tour.
Roy White said he enjoyed the tour. It gave him a different outlook on what the parks department is doing and the trails. He also said that he got a lot more out of the tour today than going out and looking at the parks alone.
Randal Wilson said he enjoyed the tour. He also requested that someone pass on to Bill and Bill's supervisor our appreciation for his meeting us out there.
Mr. McCall said he would like to thank staff for the great job they did with the webpage, he really likes it and thinks it looks professional. He also thanked Tony Nielsen for getting the bench fixed at Glenwick Park.
E. CONSENT AGENDA - Consent Items
1. Consider approval of Minutes from a regular meeting of the Park
Board held on August 12, 2004.
A motion to approve the minutes from the regular meeting of the Park Board held on August 12, 2004, with a minor correction on page 1, add Wayne Farley as being present, was made by Peggie Kimberlin and seconded by Ann Handren.
VOTE ON THE MOTION:
FOR: Peggie Kimberlin, Ann Handren, Roy White, Norma Krueger, Wayne Farley
AGAINST: None
ABSTAINED: Charissa Womack
F. REGULAR SESSION
2. Consider recommending to the Town Council approval of an
ordinance amending Chapter 1 of the Code of Ordinances, General Provisions, with the revision of Paragraph 14.00 "Naming of Dedicated Park Land" to "Naming or Renaming of Dedicated Park Land."
Jackie Jones said that earlier in the meeting, Travis Perkins alluded to an item on the agenda tonight, that is to rename a park. Since the Ordinance does not address this issue, we need to first consider amending our code of ordinances to be able to rename a park before we can discuss that item. If you look at the draft Ordinance before you, Section 1, 14.01 (a) is amended to include "naming and Renaming of Dedicated Park Land", we have added "in memoriam for public servants or civilians who perish in the line of duty" those are the proposed changes.
Chris Womack asked if it was necessary for the Town Council to approve the recommendation of the Board to amend the Ordinance before the Board could have any discussions on renaming the park because at the point in time that the Board recommends the change, it is still not an Ordinance until it has been approved by the Town Council.
Mr. Jones said that if both of these issues are recommended by the Board as written, they would go to the Council together with the amendment of the ordinance being approved first and the one pertaining to changing the park name being considered second.
Mr. Jones was asked if this had the approval of the Town Attorney.
Mr. Jones said the Town Attorney has not looked at this as yet but he thinks everything is ok and if there is an issue with it after this meeting the Town Attorney will address it with the Council.
Chris Womack said her big concern is that we do not get the hopes of the community up that this is something that can go forward and then it gets bounced back because we have to approve the ordinance before we discuss the motion.
A motion to recommend to the Town Council approval of an ordinance amending Chapter 1 of the Code of Ordinances, General Provisions, with the revision of Paragraph 14.00 "Naming of Dedicated Park Land" to "Naming or Renaming of Dedicated Park Land" was made by Roy White and seconded by Chris Womack.
VOTE ON THE MOTION:
FOR: Wayne Farley, Norma Krueger, Roy White, Chris Womack, Ann Handren and Peggie Kimberlin
AGAINST: None
2. Consider renaming Hilltop Park to Jacob R. Lugo Hilltop
Memorial Park.
Jackie Jones said that there was a meeting last week with the Mayor, Travis Perkins, Dara Fowler, Michael Ryan, Director of Community Affairs, Tracy Knierim, Assistant Town Manager, Fran Fry, Assistant Fire Chief, Tony Nielsen, Park Development Manager and himself where the subject was discussed.
At that meeting staff moved to recommended that Town Council rename Hilltop Park to "Jacob R. Lugo Hilltop Memorial Park". It is now up to the Park Board, based on your deliberations, to forward this recommendation as written or whatever your decision is, to the Town Council. This item could also be tabled for further discussion.
Ann Handren said that it is stated that the memorial will be funded by private donations with no expenditure of Town funds to complete the project, however she would like to know who would be responsible for the maintenance.
Mr. Jones said that he thinks if there is any kind of maintenance it would be done by the Town. Irrigation is already at the park and if the memorial is lit, the electricity charge would be minimal. It was also discussed at the meeting he attended that scouts could come out and maintain the landscape.
Peggie Kimberlin asked what about flag replacement?
Mr. Jones said that it is his understanding that the group that came forward with the proposal for the memorial would take care of it with private funds.
Peggie Kimberlin asked what happened to the proposal that was brought forward a year or two ago by the VFW for a memorial at Parker Square?
Mr. Jones said that about two years ago, David Zellers who was with the American Legion, approached Parker Square with the idea of having a Veterans Memorial Park located there. It was supposed to have been done with private funds. He consulted with the then Park Development Manager, Andrew Czimskey, but it never got off the ground. It might have been that it was too expensive and at the time Mr. Zellers was called to go out of the country and the idea just fell apart.
Randal Wilson asked the audience if any of them were related to Jacob Lugo, they were all friends. He continued, "My heart goes out to you for losing someone dear to you. I am now retired after spending 30 years in the military, I am 9th generation army and has many family members going all the way back to the Revolution who have lost their lives in the defense of the country. I have also served on seven boards and commission in the Town and this is the hardest thing I have ever had to talk about and I wanted you to know that since this Park Board packet arrived on my doorstep on Friday afternoon, my thoughts have been occupied with it. I have discussed it with several of my family members, my father-in-law who is a retired Airforce Lieutenant General and also my brother-in-law who spent 15 years in the navy. I also went over and had a chat about it with some of the veterans at the local VFW Post which is in Lewisville. I have some information that I would like to share with everyone and then I would like to say how I think we ought to proceed.
It is incorrect to say that Lance Corporal Lugo is the first casualty in Town. A Boy Scout for his Eagle Scout project in June of 1998, went through the Flower Mound cemetery and the Round Grove cemetery and checked that against the Department of Defense record and determined that the number of veterans interred in our cemeteries was about 135. Since this was done in 1998 he is sure the numbers must have increased since then. 17 of those are in the Round Grove Cemetery and 118 are in the Flower Mound Cemetery. Of those at least six (6) are combat deaths, two (2) from Vietnam, two (2) from Grenada, one (1) from WWI and one (1) from the Persian Gulf War thirteen (13) years ago. So we have veterans from the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Persian Gulf and now Operation Iraqi Freedom.
I strongly believe we should do something to honor our veterans in a memorial. In my discussions with the VFW, by the way, the last person to die was Corporal Haddad of the U.S. Marine Corps who died during the first three days of Operation Desert Storm. And that's not counting the others who may be in the Dallas VA Cemetery who may be from Flower Mound. I truly respect what it took for Corporal Lugo to carry out his duties, probably more than anyone else in this room since I have been there and traveled that path. I do not necessarily think, and this is the hard part, that naming a park for him to the exclusion of every other veteran, and future police officers, which hopefully we won't, but it happens, Grapevine lost two police officers this year, and if this is to be a truly memorial park, the impetus of Lance Corporal Lugo, and he will always be Lance Corporal Lugo.
It strikes me that seventeen (17) days ago, he lost his life for his country, his unit and for all of us. I think the family members, friends, and the community spirit of this Town are rushing a little fast to do something to immortalize his memory. That is not a bad thought, the issue I have as a veteran, and having spoken informally to several VFW members today, is that it's not necessarily appropriate to place one above the other by renaming a park or something like that. My proposal is that this Town is long overdue in creating a memorial to veterans and memorialize those who have lost their lives for whatever reason in combat, or if they are firefighters or police officers or civilians in the line of duty. The better thing to do, and this is hard, but I want those people out there who knew Lance Corporal Lugo to understand that what I am telling you is my suggestion, and I don't vote today, I'm an alternate and all Park Board Members are here so I don't get to vote. My thought on this is that this Town is long overdue in creating an appropriate memorial, naming a park for Corporal Lugo is not enough, a plan that maybe there will be a monument in the future where someone would add the names of the others is not enough.
My opinion, such as it is, and everybody has one, I would be in favor, strongly support and give money to the idea of creating a park, Hilltop, and calling it "Veterans Memorial Park" and creating a flag or something like that and putting a memorial there with the names of our veterans on it. Right now we have at least one Hundred and thirty-six (136) veterans, six or seven (6 or 7) who we are pretty sure, I am absolutely sure on four (4) of them, died in combat, and there are those who their families chose to use the VA cemetery in Dallas. I think a wiser and long term goal and something that is more maintainable and give proper tribute to all veterans is something we should come up with to honor them all appropriately and equally. The VFW folks I spoke to today, as a general principle does not like the idea of honoring one person over another, not that it is bad for that one person, it just does not show the same respect for the others and that is how I think we should proceed. I know that this is a very emotional issue, and it is the hardest thing I have had to do since retiring.
I would like the Board to reflect that maybe what they may need to be doing is to go out and scope and look at a way to honor equally all veterans and especially those from Flower Mound who made the ultimate sacrifice. Again, to the friends and family, please do not in any way take my comments as disrespectful of the honor in memory of Corporal Lugo."
Chris Womack said it was equally difficult for her to discuss this because she too did not want to show disrespect in any way to Corporal Lugo. She said she prays everyday that her brother's community and her nephew's community does not have to make this decision because it is a very difficult one. Her nephew returned after fifteen months and will be going back for another year in the next six months. Her brother is also a Colonel in the United States Air Force, he serves at Central Command right now and has had no family life for at least four years. That says nothing to what the Lugo family has had to go through. She said she found herself equally concerned on how to show appropriate dignity and respect to Corporal Lugo and his family while at the same time the exact thoughts went through her mind that others have given their lives, how do we equally honor all. She loves the idea of having a veteran's memorial park regardless of what we term it, she loves the idea of the beautiful model sitting on the table bearing Corporal Lugo's name if that's how his benefactors chose to donate to our Town. How do we make the two come together to honor the service of those who died in other conflicts as well. There has to be a right answer out there that will please everybody and she will support what appropriately honors our veterans, firefighters, police officers, civil servants and hopefully never have to face what the citizens of New York City had to go through, losing massive numbers of people. She would like to extend her respect to those sitting there who are here because of what they had to endure and thanks them for being friends of Corporal Lugo and thank him for his service.
Randal Wilson request reading the following into the record: Ralph H. Barfnect, United States Army, died in Vietnam on April 3, 1970, Private James E. Tate, United States Air Force died March 22, 1943 World War II, Kenneth Lee Holly, died on December 19, 1983 in Grenada, George Allen Bryan, died on August 12, 1973 in Vietnam and last but most recent until Corporal Lugo, Albert G. Haddad, Jr., Corporal in the United States Marine Corps, March 3, 1991 in the Persian Gulf. I think we need to do something, we need to name something called Veterans Memorial Park and create a committee to come up with a memorial, a 401c Commission, because we have to do that in Texas, to raise money and donate, and in working with the Town to create a memorial for those who died in service to our country, that is the appropriate thing to do. He continued that if he were sitting up there tonight with a vote, that is the motion he would make.
Peggie Kimberlin said she has listened to everything that has been said so far and she thinks making a hasty decision to honor Corporal Lugo would probably be a mistake knowing what they do now. She thinks it would be good that when this memorial is erected, that all veterans are honored equally. She said she is glad Mr. Wilson did his homework on this because they could have made a decision without knowing all the facts. She appreciates the information and who knows how many more veterans might be found if a more thorough search was done.
Mr. Perkins said a part of the plan that he did not mention is that prior to building the memorial, his committee would do research and the memorial would be dedicated to those names that were mentioned. He said he did not know all who had died in the past, he knew Lewisville had lost someone in Desert Storm, he didn't know Flower Mound did and he did not know about Grenada. Flower Mound as he understood it, was chartered in 1961 and prior to that there was no Flower Mound, therefore, technically we have no World War II or Korean Vets.
Mr. Wilson said he thinks their families would take issue with that statement.
Mr. Perkins continued that they were going to research Vietnam. He said the memorial would be for all the people who have died. He repeated Corporal Lugo's personal connection with Hilltop Park and all the time he spent there as the reason the request is being made and the other veterans may or may not have ever been there. He reiterated that no one will be left out. He mentioned that his son is currently in Iraq, a Lance Corporal in the Marine Corps in the same general area that Jacob was and where in the past week Fox News and others reported they killed seven marines and others you didn't hear about. Even though this park is named Jacob R. Lugo Park (if approved), and if the worst comes to worst, he would be honored to have his son mentioned on a monument in that same park. Everyone will be treated equally, other than the name of the park. That is the public's thank you to Jacob.
Roy White said he has listened to the other speakers tonight and the information that surrounds a park in Flower Mound that he did not know of eight years ago, a park that a young man spent time in, he grew up there, he matured there and now he thinks of a young man who died seventeen days ago and have touched all of our lives. It's created emotion and he thanks the speakers for bringing the information to the Board. Mr. Lugo's friends have lost a loved one but have brought an example of a bright shining star. He said he remembered when he served in Desert Storm and Desert Fox, many folks were lost. Everyone who serves, serves and sacrifices but the ultimate sacrifice is made by some. He said that regardless of what happens he thinks that Mr. Lugo's connection to the park will always be there. He understands what Randal Wilson is saying but he thinks there is a way to have a compromise. Whether that will be tonight, he does not know, but he does not want anyone leaving the meeting thinking one side won over the other. He said there is a park in his neighborhood and he was surprised when he learned that it was not a memorial, not some liberty park because he had submitted a name that was more of a patriotic name and it was not chosen which surprised him. He thinks there is a way to honor all the vets and if necessary, the item could be tabled for further discussions, but he thinks all the vets should be honored and this should be done in a manner to show respect for those in the audience tonight and for those who are not present also.
Jackie Jones said that just as a side note to this discussion, he wanted to point out that at Gerault Park there is a large Pecan tree that after 9/11 that area including the tree was dedicated as Liberty Park. The American Legion had a ceremony there a year later, the first year after 9/11. Our parks crews and some scouts have maintained it and it has been referred to as Liberty Park.
Chris Womack said there are a couple of issues to be settled. (1) to rename the park to "Jacob R. Lugo Hilltop Memorial Park" or (2) an adequate memorial for not only Corporal Lugo but all veterans. She wonders if the two could be accomplished in such a way that we could have a named memorial to Corporal Lugo and a location in Town on an approved piece of centralized parkland where we could put a memorial for all veterans. The proposal that was made previously by the VFW spoke about private funds and this request also speaks about private funds, she said what she needs to understand as they deliberate tonight, is the significance of the request the name of the park or the placement of a memorial in the same park with Corporal Lugos name. She needs to know if the two are inextricably connected.
Jackie Jones pointed out that tonight all the Board need to consider and take action on is the renaming of the park, as far as the memorial, what it will look like, and its location, that will come later after further discussions.
Ann Handren said she is concerned about starting renaming parks, suppose others should die, which she hopes does not happen, would we be willing to rename Gerault Park. Andre Gerault did so much for Flower Mound, but what if someone who grew up at Gerault Park should die? Would we rename Bakersfield? If we start this, at what point do we say yes or no.
Roy White said he is somewhat taking a stand on the issue, he would not ever not want to make a decision because he is concerned that somewhere down the road there may be valid reasons to rename another park, for example renaming Gerault Park, he can handle it, but on the other hand he realizes that is not something anyone is looking forward to, but there is a connection with this young man and Hilltop Park that is unique.
Mr. Wilson made the suggestion that if the park is renamed, could it be called something like "Memorial Park" or "Veterans Park" and have some kind of monument, granite or plaque placed in the confines of that park for Corporal Lugo and then work with the Town on design and see that it is done appropriately and he is willing to donate to such an effort. That would be a privately donated memorial and within that same park another memorial could be created to all veterans especially those who have lost their lives. It's not that he does not want to honor Corporal Lugo, but he also want to show the same honor to Corporal Haddad who died only thirteen years ago and all the others he had mentioned before. The Military is integrated, and you serve as a group, and military people do not like the idea of one being placed above the other because they all suffer the hardships.
Roy White said that he does agree with what Mr. Wilson said that all serve equally in the military and should be honored equally, however, they are discussing this memorial because of Corporal Lugo and some action needs to be taken.
Mike McCall asked if the Board was ready to take a vote on the item.
A motion to recommend for Town Council Approval the renaming of Hilltop Park to Jacob R. Lugo Memorial Park was made by Roy White and seconded by Ann Handren.
VOTE ON THE MOTION:
FOR:
AGAINST: Peggie Kimberlin, Ann Handren, Chris Womack,
Roy White, Norma Krueger and Wayne Farley
Randal Wilson said he suggest that a committee be formed to work with the Town, the VA, the American Legion, and all the families that can be found and come up with a draft design committee and work up a way to design a super memorial to honor all our veterans and also come up with a name which could be "Memorial Park", "Veterans Park" or something like that and make it something the Town and all the families can be proud of.
Mike McCall said that he remembers that previously, the idea of a memorial was presented to the Board by the American Legion and it fizzled out, he does not want that to happen again.
Chris Womack reminded everyone that any discussion of naming has to be done by the Board.
Randal Wilson said that is true, but the committee can come forward to the Board with a recommendation.
Chris Womack said she has no problem with a structure, or an area within the park being referred to as the Jacob R. Memorial, she knows what they are attempting to do and she approves it as far as the concept of doing something, she is just not sure if a name is enough.
Randal Wilson suggests the Board arrange to have a work session to sit down and come up with some ideas on working with Town staff on creating an appropriate memorial. Do we want a firemen's memorial, a policeman's memorial, a veteran's memorial or an individual memorial where if people want to create a 401c to raise money for Corporal Lugo it can be placed in that area.
Chris Womack said one of the things that was discussed at one time was the park at Parker Square to have a memorial that would be visible to everyone, and although she finds Hilltop to be very important to this young man, a memorial should be visible and easily found by everyone in the Town. She wonders if they could put together a work session maybe even in this month to try to discuss this further.
Wayne Farley asked about Liberty Gardens.
Jackie Jones said he think some scouts had approached staff about creating this in honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11.
Ann Handren asked if the police or fire department has ever approached the Town about a memorial for those who might lose their lives in the line of duty.
Jackie Jones said not to his knowledge.
Mike McCall said fortunately we have not had to face that issue.
Peggie Kimberlin said she would like to make a motion to rename Hilltop Park to Memorial Park.
No one seconded the motion.
Norma Krueger said she would like for either a park be renamed or named a memorial park as well. She thinks it is something they need to move on as soon as possible and appoint a committee since funds are going to be needed for the memorial. She would like to see something done in the next two or three months.
Chris Womack said what captured her on the recommendation was not having a park named after a citizen of Flower Mound, but the "memorial" aspect of it that she is having a big issue with. She says she knows something needs to be done to honor this young man and all the others who served, but she is not sure Hilltop Park is the right place for a veteran's memorial. Big discussions were held on the Park Board about Bakersfield Park being Flower Mound's memorial park for all residents, that was recommended to the Council but they voted instead for a naming contest to get citizens to participate in the naming of the park. She sees the two as separate things, whether there is a Jacob R. Lugo Park or a Veterans memorial anyway in any park.
Jackie Jones said in addition to Ms. Womack's comments, he remembers there was also some discussions either formally or informally, he does not recall right now, of having a memorial as a part of Bakersfield Park on the western side of Bakers Branch Creek.
Roy White said they have two decisions to make, one to look at Jacob Lugo's connection to that park and potentially move for a committee to look for a significant spot, a more centralized location for many of the reasons that was talked about, to have a location to honor all who deserve such honor. He would feel more comfortable recommending to the Town Council to rename Hilltop Park the "Jacob R. Lugo Hilltop Park" and name a committee to consider the other proposal.
Randal Wilson asked if the park's name would have the term "Jacob R. Lugo Memorial" in there.
Roy White said no, just rename it "Jacob R. Lugo Park" the term "memorial" will not be included.
Randal Wilson said his problem is that he does not believe in placing one person over another.
Chris Womack said that would be the situation if it were a veteran's memorial but she likes the idea of just naming it Lugo Park. She has no problem with it being just called "Jacob R. Lugo Park".
Randal Wilson said his point is that something needs to be done equally for all veterans and they all need to get it done and it needs to be in a prominent location in the community and all the other factors that was discussed before should be considered. They also need to include all the groups mentioned before and spend some money and get it done.
He does not think it is a bad thing to rename the park, the greatest thing Corporal Lugo did was to attain the rank of Lance Corporal, he is not a mister, and to those people who love him dearly, including his unit, and they all did, he was Lance Corporal and if we should proceed on the path to rename the park it should be called "Corporal Jacob R. Lugo U.S.M.C. Park" and that says a great deal about him. As far as a monument there, he thinks it would be over and above what was necessary and would be inappropriate.
Chris Womack said she would support naming this park for Jacob R. Lugo, but she does not want to see his rank on the park. She would like to see his rank on a beautiful memorial centralized in this Town along with every other veteran who gave his life.
Ann Handren said the issue of a memorial is a separate issue to be brought up later but right now it's just a matter of changing the name.
Chris Womack also said what wrenches her heart about this whole thing is that she does not want to see a veterans memorial hit with baseballs, vandalized by students or kids at the park playing on it. She wants it to be a place of honor, respect, dignity, repose ,a place where the community can go such as a cemetery in response to their loved ones giving their lives.
A motion to recommend for Town Council Approval the renaming of Hilltop Park to the Jacob R. Lugo Park was made by Chris Womack and seconded by Norma Krueger.
Discussion on the motion:
Chris Womack said that would have to come forward for approval.
Roy White said all that is being discussed right now is renaming the park.
Ann Handren said he has a point because although the motion only said renaming all the things we have discussed included memorial.
Chris Womack said that was under other conflicts or issues and not a part of the actual motion. The name memorial was simply in the name.
Randal Wilson said his recommendation is that the motion be amended to state "with no other memorial be authorized at this time" until it can be worked out in the future.
Chris Womack requested direction from Jackie Jones on the issue.
Jackie Jones said that if the motion on the floor is to rename Hilltop Park to Jacob R. Lugo Park, it does not touch on the memorial aspect which although discussed, was not on the Agenda for discussion tonight.
Roy White said the memorial issue was voted against and now this is a completely different issue.
Jackie Jones said what you are now doing is changing the name by removing the term "memorial" and you can certainly do that.
Chris Womack said the Board could have a motion requesting a joint work session with Council members to discuss this idea of a memorial.
Mr. Perkins was asked what he thinks of the proposal.
He said they did not have a problem with it. He said the term memorial was included because he was aware that there were other people who deserved to be memorialized and he did not want to put one above the other.
John Thomas said he agreed also, and as he sat there and thought about it, we should get the input of the fire and police departments on any memorial which will include public servants. He said he had not even thought of it until the discussions that took place here tonight.
VOTE ON THE MOTION:
FOR: Wayne Farley, Norma Krueger, Roy White, Chris Womack, Ann Handren, and Peggie Kimberlin
AGAINST: None
G. COORDINATION OF CALENDARS
The next Park Board meeting is scheduled for October 14, 2004.
Chris Womack thanked those in the audience who attended on behalf of Corporal Lugo for their patience while the Board discussed the item. She said she has been on the Board for four (4) years and this has absolutely been the most difficult thing she has ever had to discuss, it was a touchy issue and they wanted to be sure that it was done in a tasteful manner and hope they will never have to do this again.
Travis Perkins said thank you and that he thinks the Board handled the matter with dignity and appropriate concern.
Randal Wilson said he has no problem with Corporal Lugo and his tie to that particular park but that does not diminish Corporal Haddad and others, yes, there can be a big memorial for everyone, but he is going to verify his information and bring forward the motion to rename a few other parks in this community.
Chris Womack said that at the time, if the families of these other veterans had thought about it, that they could have requested something like this from the Town, they might have done so.
Randal Wilson said he thinks Corporal Lugo deserves to have it but he also thinks seven (7) other veterans who died and are from Flower Mound deserve to have parks named after them. He said he might not have a vote on this but he wanted everyone to know that he feels strongly about this.
Chris Womack said that it appears that several work sessions will be needed to discuss this matter or request a task force to look at the matter.
Ann Handren said the more groups that are included in the discussions will be more people to participate financially.
Randal Wilson suggest that a work session be scheduled for September, October and November and if not needed, it can be cancelled.
Jackie Jones said scheduling is handled by staff.
Randal Wilson said that maybe this will give staff some time to come up with some locations or ideas which could be discussed at the work sessions.
Mike McCall said one of the problem is that this is an emotional issue and when dealing with issues of this type it sometimes is a good idea to take some time off and think things through. The other thing is, there is a lot to decide, and when you think of all the avenues this thing could take, it could become very time expensive so it might be better to form a sub-committee and say, you have two months to get back to us, and have them work diligently on this and come back to us with three ideas.
Chris Womack asked if we are allowed to have sub-committees because of the open meeting act.
She was told there could not be more than three.
Jackie Jones said he will get some direction from the Town Secretary on the matter.
Chris Womack said if the idea of a formal sub-committee is adopted, does it in any way imply that Town funds will be used for anything?
Jackie Jones said what he understands is needed right now is that a location needs to be identified and a name to be chosen, not the design of a monument.
Randal Wilson suggest that since the people who were here tonight have a nice monument design, it might only need to be tweaked.
Jackie Jones said he will take the matter to the Town Secretary and at the next meeting work out all the details.
H. FUTURE AGENDAS
I. ADJOURNMENT - PARK BOARD MEETING
A motion to adjourn was made by Chris Womack and seconded by Norma Krueger.
The motion was unanimous and the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 p.m.
________________________ ---_______ ________________________
Bart Stevenson, Exec. Director Mike McCall, Chair
Community Services