San Luis plans park to honor military veterans
City hopes to get $150,000project done between 2019 and 2023
SAN LUIS, Ariz. — This city wants to open a park within a park dedicated to military veterans with roots in San Luis.
The park, tentatively estimated to cost $150,000, has been included in the San Luis capital improvement plan, a list of public works projects the city hopes to get done between 2019 and 2023. Design work for the park could begin as soon as the next fiscal year that begins in July, San Luis Parks and Recreation Director Louie Galaviz said.
“San Luis doesn’t have a place to honor veterans, like most cities do,” he said. “We believe that the time is right to begin to develop that idea, that those who have given their lives serving (in the military) be recognized.”
Finding a site for the park is no problem, Galaviz said. Within the city’s existing Joe Orduno Park complex are nearly two acres that aren’t being used now.
The park complex, north of Juan Sanchez Boulevard and east of Main Street, is located on state land that the city is allowed to use for recreational purposes.
“It’s the ideal site,” Galaviz said. “The veterans park would be very visible and of easy access to the public. It would beautify the area because right now there’s nothing there.”
City officials already are looking at various design concepts, some of which envision placing a tank, a helicopter or some other military aircraft on display in the park.
Galaviz said the city has already received offers from architectural firms to design the project. During the planning stage of the park, he added, the city will consult with the Department of Veterans Affairs to identify veterans with San Luis roots who can be honored in a park monument.
Plans to open the park comes as work continues on a veterans park in Somerton, at the site of the Regional Center for Border Health’s recently opened headquarters and College of Health Careers.
“We know that they will have it done soon in Somerton. I believe every city should have a place to honor its veterans,” Galaviz said, adding City Councilwoman Africa Luna played a key role in including the park in the city’s five-year plan.