- November 20, 2024
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The Flagler Beach City Commission is considering a request to erect a monument at a locl park for parents who have lost children.
Flagler Beach resident and psychiatric nurse Donna Lunsford, who founded Parents in Mourning of Flagler County after her son died 13 years ago, told commissioners Dec. 12 that she would like to create a monument with an ‘angel of hope’ statue, a wall with names and a butterfly garden.
“It’s really a place for people to find hope after they’ve lost a child, and there’s just such a need out there,” she said.
But after commissioners expressed concern about placing the monument in Veterans Park and asked for more information on its dimensions, Lunsford withdrew her proposal and agreed to work with City Manager Bruce Campbell before bringing the matter back to the commission.
Lunsford estimated the angel of hope statue would cost about $15,000, and she plans to raise the money through tribute-brick sales and donations.
But none of the commissioners were convinced Veterans Park would be the right place for the monument.
“That park has been dedicated to veterans,” said Commission Chairman Steve Settle. “I have had a couple of people comment that you’re kind of besmearing your veteran population.”
Settle asked Lunsford whether she’d considered other locations, and she said she preferred Veterans Park because of its visibility.
“People will know that it’s there," she said. "The key is visual awareness ... otherwise, it’s like the one in Palm Coast that people don’t know is there.”
Campbell and Mayor Linda Provencher each suggested that Wickline Park, on South Daytona Avenue, might be a better location, being that it’s larger and not already dedicated to any other group.
Commissioner Joy McGrew said it would also be a better place for group meetings, because of its extra shade.
Settle said he would like Campbell to consult with local veterans organization before making any decision to approve the memorial for Veterans Park, and Commission Vice Chairman Jane Mealy worried that a statue of an angel in a city park would look like a city endorsement of religious belief.
“Not everybody in town is Christian, and an angel bothers me,” she said. Lunsford interjected that the angel was non-denominational, but Mealy responded: “I’m not Christian; the angel bothers me. I would not vote for it if it were only me. ... I’m not against doing this, but I am against the angel.”
Commissioner Kim Carney said she also thought the angel might be too much, and she also worried about space.
“Veterans Park is very small, per square foot,” she said. “I’m worried about it being safe, about it being defaced.”
A Flagler Beach resident noted during public comment that there are always hidden costs to erecting a monument.
Even if the city doesn’t pay to build it, he said, it would have to pay to protect it from vandals and from children that would want to play on it.
