Mayor Appoints Veteran’s Memorial Design Task Force
Group to set guidelines for improvements, bond money

Acknowledging the importance of the Anchorage Veteran’s Memorial on the Delaney Park Strip, Mayor Mark Begich appointed an eight-person task force to design future improvements to the memorial. This diverse group reflects a variety of community interests in the park and the existing memorial. 

During the April 2007 Municipal Election, voters approved a Parks and Recreation bond containing $200,000 for improvements to the existing memorial. The task force will be charged with directing the use of the bond funds and defining the guidelines for any future changes to the memorial that would be paid for with private funds.

“We want to make sure that any improvements or expansion of the Veteran’s Memorial are done in a deliberative, dignified way,” Mayor Begich said. “There are many Veteran’s groups in Anchorage and we want to make sure all voices are heard.”

Over the course of its deliberations for a Delaney Park master plan, the Citizens’ Advisory Group has identified a number of core values for the park, including maintaining its current emphasis on open, multi-use space and maintaining consistency in the acceptance and placement of public memorials in the limited space the park offers.  The work of the Task Force will be consistent with these principals and be incorporated in the final park master plan. 

While the memorial and Delaney Park master plan have been the subject of several public meetings to date, the Task Force will provide an opportunity for further public comment. 

Members of the task force include: 
Tim Benintendi, Vietnam Veteran
Tom Case, Dean, UAA School of Business
Larry Cash, RIM Architects
Lanie Fleischer, Friends of Delaney Park
Sharon Long, Mother of LCPL Grant Fraser
Tom Morgan, MOA Military and Veterans Affairs Commission
Kathleen Plunkett, MOA Parks and Recreation Commission
Herbert Turner, retired USAF

The group will hold its first meeting before the end of June and is expected to have its recommendations finished by this fall.  
 

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