#4 Consideration and possible action on Janesville Patrioric Society request for Veteran's Memorial Plaza
Community Development Department Memorandum
Date: April 25, 2011
TO: Janesville City Council
FROM: Duane Cherek, Planning Services Manager
SUBJECT: Review of Janesville Patriotic Society request for Veteran’s Memorial
Plaza Expansion at Traxler Park.
_____________________________________________________________________
SUMMARY
The Janesville Patriotic Society (JPS) has developed a conceptual plan to enhance the
Veteran’s Memorial site at Traxler Park. The project includes undertaking a series of
improvements in the park for the purpose of creating a patriotic center in the City.
Preliminary design plans submitted with this proposal identify placement of future
veteran’s memorials and paved walkways that would be constructed in the north loop of
Traxler Park. The walkway and monument features would be situated between the
main parking lot and the existing Veteran’s Plaza located at the north side of the park.
The Patriotic Society desires to have the City Council grant conceptual design approval
to allow the veteran’s group to proceed with the project. The Plan Commission has
reviewed the JPS proposal and forwarded an unfavorable recommendation onto the
Council.
JPS President Tom Stehura intends to make a brief presentation at the meeting to
provide the Council with an overview of the project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council direct JPS to revise their design plans to limit
placement of future memorials at the north end of Traxler Park in the vicinity of the
existing Veteran’s Plaza and then submit the revised plans to Plan Commission for
reconsideration.
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
Based on the discussion that occurred at the Plan Commission, I recommend that the
City Council request that the Janesville Patriotic Society submit a revised plan to the
Plan Commission that addresses the concerns raised at the Plan Commission.
This can be an excellent project for Janesville, but appears to need some revising in the
plans to limit the taking of the open space area in Traxler Park.
SUGGESTED MOTION
Move to either approve, deny or amend the Janesville Patriotic Society’s conceptual
design plans for expansion of veteran’s memorials and other improvements at Traxler
Park.
BACKGROUND
The Janesville Patriotic Society initially appeared before the City Council in mid- 2009 to
share their plans for Traxler Park. At that time, the group’s proposal was to relocate
existing veteran’s memorials to the north loop of the park and designate space for the
addition of new monuments at the site. Under the current proposal, JPS is not
requesting that any memorials already placed in the city be moved to this location.
Instead, veteran’s groups will be invited to place new memorials in Traxler Park or, if
they decide to, move their existing monuments to the park site. Exhibit A provides an
illustration of the design plans and proposed location of improvements in the park
submitted by JPS.
The Janesville Patriotic Society shared their project plans with the Leisure Services
Advisory Committee in September of 2010 and the Committee voted in support of the
proposal (committee minutes attached). On January 24th, JPS President Tom Stehura
appeared before the City Council to provide an informational update and overview of the
group’s refined project plans. Following the presentation, the Council referred this
matter to the Plan Commission for its review and recommendation. The Plan
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Commission held a public hearing on February 28 and reviewed the Society’s proposal
for placement of additional memorials in the park.
During the meeting, Plan Commission members indicated they would like to see a
revised Plan for expansion on the north end of the park to balance the use of available
open space. An unfavorable recommendation on the project plan was forwarded to the
City Council noting that the Plan Commission feels the concept is a good concept and
Traxler Park represents an appropriate location for expanded veteran recognition, but
the Commission’s preference is to consolidate the project around the existing
monument area to the north.
ANALYSIS
A. The proposed expansion of the Veteran’s Plaza in Traxler Park is shown in
Exhibit A and generally described in a summary document attached to this
report. The primary feature shown on the concept plan consists of a 200’ wide
circular walkway that connects the surface parking lot in the middle of the park to
the Veteran’s Plaza at the north end. The walkway would be 10 to 12 feet wide
with six additional monument spaces depicted on the plan; however, JPS
indicates more could be added in the future. JPS President Tom Stehura
indicates design standards and criteria will be created for establishing future
monuments in the park. Fundraising efforts in the form of grants and donations
will be utilized to fund the cost of construction for the memorial walkway,
landscaping and monuments. According to JPS, funding currently exists to
construct the circular walkway.
B. Traxler Park is a 37-acre community park located along the river. It was
originally established in 1929 when the Lions Club acquired the property and
donated this land area known as “Goose Island” to the City for parkland
purposes. The park offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities and
facilities such as an outdoor ice skating rink, warming house, pavilions, restroom
and concession stand buildings, volleyball courts, the Traxler Lagoon (fishing)
and playground equipment. Traxler is also home to the Rock Aqua Jays, the
nationally renowned water ski show team. The north end of Traxler Park is
encompassed by a circular roadway that provides angled parking along the
perimeter. This inner loop portion of north Traxler Park contains approximately
6.4 acres of contiguous open space area, excluding the existing the Veteran’s
Plaza improvements which consist of the Medal of Honor Walkway and Eternal
Flame memorials.
C. Traxler Park is commonly recognized as Janesville’s primary “Special Event”
park and has a long history of providing for the social and recreational events of
various service clubs and civic organizations. On an annual basis, the park has
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hosted many special events including but not limited to the 4 of July
Celebration, regional & national water-ski tournaments, Renaissance Fair,
Memorial Day Parade, Rotary Corn Roast/Volleyball Tournament, and Veteran’s
Day Ceremony. During these events, anywhere from a few hundred individuals
to several thousand people may be present in the park. For some of these
events, nearly all space available in the park is utilized in some fashion to provide
either parking, exhibits, tents, vendor stands, amusement rides, games,
equipment or simple congregation of festival attendees. Table 1 identifies most,
but not all of the special events that are held on an annual basis at Traxler Park.
One of Traxler Park’s greatest assets is the availability of accessible open space
in the park. The area located immediately north of the parking lot is commonly
utilized as a staging facility to accommodate many of the special events and
activities held in the park. Staff is concerned that fragmentation of that open
space will negatively impact a sponsor’s ability to host or successfully conduct a
special event in the park. In addition, introduction of memorials into the area
could, depending on their design, expose them to potential damage if the space
continues to be used for a mix of passive and active recreational activities.
D. The Parks and Open Space Plan recognizes Traxler Park as providing an
opportunity for expansion of existing veteran’s memorials and monuments. The
Plan indicates that “the City should further examine developing the theme of
honoring veteran’s already present in the park, and that it may be appropriate to
locate the City’s veteran and war memorials in the park creating a central
location for the veteran’s memorial.” However, the Plan also indicates that
“although the park is 37-acres in size, it contains limited open space and
insufficient parking for the events held there.” The Plan recommends potentially
increasing the size of the park through acquisition of properties along the
waterfront to the south, if circumstances allow for that to occur.
E. Staff has evaluated the Patriotic Society’s request for expansion of veteran’s
memorials in the Traxler Park and offers the following:
Traxler Park is clearly one of Janesville’s most recognized and heavily used
facilities. This park is centrally located, situated just north of downtown and
along a navigable portion of the Rock River. The identity and value of the
park is tied very closely to those attributes, but also the open space
opportunities which make it a popular venue for community wide use, festivals
and special events. Over time, the demand for events held at Traxler has
grown and we expect that will continue into the future. Protecting sufficient
open space within the park to accommodate the broad range of assembly
activities that occur is critical to the continued success of those activities. The
area proposed for the JPS memorial expansion is critical open space
because of its central location within the park, it adjoins the primary parking
lot, it is close to restroom and concession stand buildings, and the Aqua Jay
facilities.
Existing Veteran’s Plaza memorials are currently located near the north end
of the park. Staff believes expansion of memorials on the site should be
concentrated around existing monument features. Based on the conceptual
plans submitted by JPS, there is no clear reason why additional veteran’s
memorials cannot be limited to the north side, as opposed to the current
proposal which encompasses a significant portion of the park’s inner loop.
The area within the inner loop is roughly 6.4 acres. Physically, this amount of
space is not required in order for JPS to carry out their proposal, but there is a
need to maintain a usable open space in the park to accommodate other
activities. We also believe that consolidating additional memorial
improvements within a smaller, more defined area will help create a critical
mass of features to make the project more meaningful, consistent with
veteran’s intent. This will also help preserve the availability of open space in
the park to ensure other public uses/events/activities can continue to be held
on the site.
Staff believes other alternative designs should be considered to accentuate
and expand upon the existing memorial plaza facilities in Traxler Park. Those
facilities could be configured on the northerly one-third to one-half portion of
the park. JPS has identified that access to the main parking lot is desirable
for the expansion proposal and visitors. We believe that construction of a
walkway connecting the main parking lot to the veteran’s plaza can be
accomplished in a manner that would not adversely affect the open space
area between those facilities.
Staff is careful to point out that our concern regarding placement of veteran’s
memorials in the park is based solely on the spatial arrangement of the
improvements proposed and how a conversion of the existing open space
would impact the wide variety of activities and events held in the park.
Lastly, staff believes it is necessary to establish design criteria for evaluating
the placement of individual monuments or memorials as those proposals
come forward. At this time, staff is suggesting that memorials be
concentrated in a smaller area at the north end of the park and would like to
encourage the veteran’s groups to focus on how that could be accomplished.
Regardless of the final configuration agreed upon, separate review and
approval by Plan Commission and City Council would be required prior to
installation of each individual monument in the park.
F. A majority of Traxler Park is located in the 100-year floodplain. The Veteran’s
Plaza did incur damage during the 2008 flood event requiring significant repair.
Placement of future improvements of this type will need to incorporate
appropriate design/engineering measures to account for occasional high water
incidents in the park. Those measures generally involve construction techniques
to minimize differential (soil) settling of monuments because of saturated ground
conditions.
G. Staff has received a letter from the Janesville Noon Lions Club referencing their
concerns about expansion of the veteran’s memorials in the park (letter
attached).
Based on staff’s analysis of this proposal, we find that the Janesville Patriotic Society’s
current proposal to locate future veteran’s memorials in Traxler Park to the south of the
current memorials would fragment and hinder the use of critical open space that is
necessary to annually accommodate numerous passive and active civic and
recreational events. Staff recommends that the Patriotic Society revise their design
plans to limit placement of memorials at the north end of the park in the vicinity of the
existing Veteran’s Plaza, and resubmit those plans to Plan Commission for
reconsideration.
PLAN COMMISSION ACTION – 21 MARCH 2011
Tom Stehura, President of the Janesville Patriotic Society, gave a presentation
regarding the society’s request to expand the Veteran’s Memorial Plaza within Traxler
Park. He discussed membership of the society, veteran’s activities and the current
improvements in the park including the Medal of Honor Circle. He stated that their
intent was to increase handicap accessibility, enhance the area as a Patriotic Center,
provide a nice setting for monuments, provide a serene setting for ceremonies, provide
a community events area surrounded by a circle, to educate citizens on the
contributions of veterans and to draw more people into the area. He presented three
different designs for the expansion and indicated that the circular conceptual design is
the one that the Patriotic Society prefers, that this design was approved by the Leisure
Services Committee and that the Aqua Jays have indicated that they support this plan.
He added that the plan provides good access to parking, opportunities for landscaping
and monument education, and gives 1 ½ acres of open space for community events.
He said that JPS would follow all City requirements as far as building permits,
architectural drawings, continuity with park plans and working to make sure that
monument display areas meet the standards. He suggested that a committee could be
formed to come up with design criteria and specifications for these monuments. He
stated that JPS will be responsible for building common areas for walkways,
landscaping and coordinating activities with member organizations. He added that JPS
has always cooperated with the city and supplied things to the park which were not
required but requested by the city. JPS would not be asking the City for any money but
would instead fund the plan through organizations, donations and fund-raising. He
stated that the timeline to complete this plan would be approximately 3-5 years but that
the community events circle and connection to the parking lot would be done within the
first year.
Commissioner Perrotto said that he is in support of the concept and asked Mr. Stehura
if he had considered Staff’s recommendation to concentrate the expansion to the north
end of the park where there are existing monuments. Mr. Stehura indicated that
monuments are planned for this area already and that adding more than what is
planned there could give it a cemetery-like appearance without any aesthetic appeal.
Duane Cherek, Planning Services Manager, presented the written staff report.
The public hearing was opened and the following people appeared to speak regarding
this item:
Bob Abb, Member of American Legion Post #205. Stated that the American Legion
has been around for 91 years, has run many City events, and would like to help to
build a Patriotic Center in Traxler Park along with other organizations. He stated the
plan would enhance the park by attracting people and giving them a place to
assemble. He added that people coming to the park for other events would be able
to enjoy the monuments as well and the attraction might even help downtown
businesses.
Buneva Deuel, 1625 Purvis, President of Unit 437 Military Order of the Purple Heart,
spoke in favor of the proposal.
Bob Engstrom, President of Vietnam Veteran’s Chapter in Janesville, stated that
every organization and every event brings something of value to the park. He spoke
in favor of the request and felt it was an opportunity to enhance a little-used area of
the park, make it accessible to the handicapped, educate children and attract
visitors.
Al Pacheco, Vietnam Veteran, stated that Traxler Park was one of the most visited
parks in the City due to the Medal of Honor Walkway and the Aqua Jays ski show
and that the Aqua Jays endorse this project realizing that their events and tent
space would not be hindered. He stated that 60,000 people have visited the wall and
that it is an enhancement to the City which draws tourists.
Chris Last, 715 N Garfield Avenue, stated that the Janesville Renaissance Fair uses
Traxler Park for their event on the southeastern portion of the loop because it has
the space and power they need. He stated that the event has grown over the last
few years and, since they are no longer able to use the area containing the ice rink
due to the berm, they would prefer to use the south and eastern portion of the park
because they need power. He stated he is in favor of the proposal but requested
that if this plan was approved, JPS wait until after this year’s Renaissance Fair on
May 14 before breaking ground.
Lamar Deuel, 1625 Purvis, Associate Member of the Military Order of Purple Heart
and past Commander of VFW, stated that he has lived in Wisconsin for 15 years but
prior to that, he lived in San Diego for 44 years. He stated that although San Diego
was a military City, there wasn’t a plan such as this one anywhere in the city. He felt
it was a very unique proposal and spoke in favor of it.
Mike Payne, 245 Knoll View Drive, past President of Janesville Lion’s Club, referred
to the letter from the Lions Club which was included in the staff report on this item.
He stated that the Janesville Lions Club was founded in 1922 and one of their first
community service projects was to purchase 30 acres along the riverfront known as
Goose Island. This land was transferred to the City in the late 1920’s for purposes
of creating parkland and open space for the community. He stated that the club had
also donated a pavilion building for the park. He stated that there are 16 events
outlined to occur annually in the park with participants ranging from 2,100 to 29,000
people. He stated that the plan had been presented to the Lions Club last year and
there was a genuine interest in the project but a number of concerns regarding the
magnitude of expansion and impact to the greenspace area. He stated that the
proposed expansion was located within the 100-year floodplain and wondered if JPS
had considered the physical and financial impacts of future floods. He questioned
who would be responsible for correcting possible defects or trips hazards caused by
roots from trees within the sidewalk/greenspace areas. He stated that there were a
significant number of user groups and activities programmed for public assembly in
the greenspace area and he felt the public may feel it would be disrespectful to erect
tents and park vehicles within the monument display areas. He said that the Lions
Club would be supportive of a more consolidated plan within the northern end of the
park.
Barry Gazso, 3413 W. Forest Lane, JJR Civil Engineers & Landscape Architects in
Madison, stated he is here on a voluntary basis and that he had asked the veteran’s
group if they had a problem with anyone running around the monuments. They
indicated that they would not and in fact they wanted to encourage uses within the
area in hopes that it will generate interest in the monuments.
Commissioner Perrotto asked if Mr. Gazso had thoughts on how to expand to the north
end without it appearing as a cemetery. Gazso stated that he was skeptical that could
be avoided but he hasn’t attempted to draw it out. He added that expanding only into
that portion would cause problems not only for the current JPS plan in place but for any
additions/expansion in the future.
Chairperson Zolidis asked about stormwater management conditions, as this is an area
that floods, and how it would be maintained. Gazso answered that the area where the
circle is located is the area that floods the least even during a 100-year flood event and
that the Parks Department has been working diligently to mitigate some of the flooding
in that park. He added that many of the trees are suffering from flooding or other
natural events and some of them may need to be removed and that the soil in the area
should be looked at.
Tom Stehura, 1309 Manor Drive, stated that JPS replaced wiring, fixed displaced
brick, and cleaned up after the last flood and that they have $10,000 in their account
to cover the insurance deductible. He added that they have also taken care of minor
vandalism in the area. He believes the open space in the center of the circle will
draw people into it and that they could push the monuments all the way out to the
road so as not to detract from the center area. He confirmed that JPS did not have a
problem with kids climbing on or around the monuments because while that’s
happening, the monument might be read.
Commissioner Perrotto asked how JPS would feel if a non-member wanted to erect a
monument. Mr. Stehura stated that as long as that organization followed the same
review process and criteria then they would have a right to do so.
The public hearing was closed.
Commissioner Perrotto asked what Staff’s position was following the public hearing.
Cherek pointed out that the most critical area of open space is north of the parking lot in
the southern portion of the loop because of its adjacency to support facilities and its
available staging area for most events that take place in the park. If there is a need on
JPS’s behalf to have greater land area around future monuments, a suggestion would
be to commence their expansion in the vicinity of existing Veteran’s Plaza facilities at
the north end, and then work their way around the perimeter of the inner park loop from
the north. Ultimately there should be an attempt to preserve or protect that area of
programmable open space which experiences the greatest amount of community-wide
interest and use. Cherek continued that JPS’s proposal may cause the contiguous area
of existing open space to be fragmented. He stated that it is important to balance the
interest in protecting the available open space so it continues to serve the needs of
many groups and the entire community.
Cherek pointed out that the area and configuration of the proposed walkway on the
southern portion of the inner parkland loop is roughly 2 ½ acres in size, leaving a
balance of 4 acres on the north end. He stated that four acres should be sufficient to
accommodate a design of up to 6 additional monuments as they are proposing, and a
walkway could be extended from the parking lot to access the monument sites.
Lastly, Cherek explained that staff consistently bases its recommendations whenever
possible on established City plans. The City’s Park & Open Space Plan which
recognizes that expansion of the Veteran’s Memorials is appropriate in Traxler Park, but
it also indicates that open space and parking are limited, especially during major events
with a large number of people in attendance. He added that limited options exist to
expand this park because of its physically surroundings. Therefore, staff is trying to
protect a critical area of open space directly north of the parking lot and believes there
should be some middle ground in the decision.
Chairperson Zolidis asked if the Plan Commission voted unfavorably, would JPS be
able to come back with a new design at another time. Cherek stated that the options
would be to move it forward to council with whatever action the Plan Commission takes
or for JPS to come back to PC with an alternative proposal. He suggested that maybe
an advisory committee of interested parties could be organized to come up with a
proposal that satisfies all concerns.
Commissioner Hanewold believes that pushing it into the north end separates the park
into JPS’s area and everyone else’s area which goes against JPS’s goal about cross-
over for awareness of their project. She stated that she believed room should be made
for all uses to blend.
Commissioner Perrotto stated that he was not convinced that pushing it to the north end
would create a cemetery appearance and he’d like to see an attempt to design it in that
manner.
Commissioner Voskuil stated she would like to see the project move forward but would
also like to balance the needs of the community. She referred to the seven purposes
for the expansion that JPS presented and didn’t believe that any of them were dictated
by the size of the area. She stated that she would like to see more handicapped
accessibility to north end. She questioned, since this is a three to five year project, if it
could be started at the northern end and depending on how well it’s being received and
funded, continue potential future phases to the south. She stated that she’s struggling
with the size of the project and believes a better job would be done keeping it to the
northern end of the park. She wasn’t certain that the expansion was addressing all of
the needs of all users of the park.
Commissioner Werner thanked the veterans for their service and support they’ve shown
the city. He stated that he would like to see a revised plan with the circle concept for
the expansion in the north end of the park in order to balance the use of open space.
There was a motion by Commissioner Perrotto with a second by Chairperson Zolidis to
postpone their decision until such time the petitioners can work with staff to redesign the
proposal by looking to the northern end of the park to see how it could be expanded
there.
Commissioner Werner asked if JPS would rather that the item be postponed or voted
upon to forward either a favorable or unfavorable decision to the City Council. Mr.
Stehura stated that they wouldn’t have a problem meeting with staff to show what the
project may look like if it was pushed north but he would need a definition as to how
much of the area is considered “north”. He continued that since Council asked for a
recommendation from the Plan Commission, he would prefer that the Plan Commission
follow their direction even if it means sending the item to the Council with a negative
recommendation. He stated that if the Council requests JPS to revise the plans, they
could ask that of them. He indicated that JPS could meet before the Council Meeting to
discuss Plan Commission’s recommendation.
Commissioner Perrotto and Chairperson Zolidis agreed to withdraw their original
motion.
Commissioner Werner made a motion with a second by Commissioner Voskuil to make
an unfavorable recommendation to the City Council on the plan presented today noting
that the Plan Commission thinks the concept is a good concept, that there should be a
fitting celebration recognizing veterans and that the park is a good place for that, but
that Plan Commission’s preference would be if the project could be consolidated more
around the existing monument area to the north.
The motion passed on a 4-1-1 vote with Commissioner Hanewold opposed and
Commissioner Perrotto passing.
cc: Eric Levitt
Jay Winzenz