The Memorial Committee overseeing plans for a memorial for the victims of the 2011 Salon Meritage shootings has recommended a section of Eisenhower Park as the location of the memorial according to a staff report by Tim Kelsey, Seal Beach’s recreation manager.
The proposed site for what is being called the Support in Love Memorial Plaza would be in a section of the part overlooking the Eighth Street parking lot.
The City Council will approve the plans for the memorial at a future date.
Kelsey submitted his report to the Wednesday, June 26, Recreation and Parks Commission meeting.
The report refers to a section of Eisenhower Park that is separated from the rest of the park by the entrance to the beach parking lot, making the area comparatively private.
“The committee met a total of five times with staff and the city’s design professional David Volz to discuss location and preferred amenities for a memorial,” Kelsey said.
“The committee’s goal for the memorial was to establish a site that provided quiet reflection. The committee also identified that they did not want a memorial at the site of the tragedy or near the site of the tragedy,” Kelsey said in his report.
“After much discussion, the committee voted to place the memorial at Eisenhower Park north of Eighth Street. The committee felt this location would take advantage of the view of the beach and pier,” Kelsey said.
The conceptual drawings for the Support in Love Memorial Plaza show a heart-shaped memorial with bench seating.
The memorial as proposed would be surrounded by stone paving.
The memorial itself would overlook the beach.
Planning for the memorial officially began in December 2011, slightly more than two months after the tragedy, when the City Council adopted a policy.
The original plan was for the memorial to be unveiled on the 2012 anniversary of the crime.
A November 2012 Sun News poll asked if the memorial should be paid for with taxpayer money or private donations.
According to the poll, 94 percent preferred private donations be used to pay for the memorial.
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