By MOLLY O’BRIEN Herald & News

At a City Council meeting held in August, members of the community took their turns standing before the council. The Klamath Falls residents who spoke used their allotted three minutes to express concerns and dismay regarding the plans to use COVID-19 relief funds to build a display featuring a decommissioned F-15 jet in Veterans Memorial Park. Funding from the Biden administration’s COVID-19 relief package, the American Rescue Plan Act, will be used to pay for the $600,000 display. “This is a really special place for our community. I wasn’t surprised by the outcry at all,” Trish Seiler said, “but council was.” Seiler served on City Council for 16 years. In that time, she remembers facing similar outcries after the city announced a project proposal to build an ice skating rink in the park, back in the early 2000s. Community members made themselves heard then as well, adamant in their disapproval of the proposal. “Once we had put that notion to rest, I talked to the city manager,” Seiler recalled, “and I said, ‘You know this is going to happen, again. We need to build a memorial.’” And build, they did. Seiler’s words of wisdom were the first in a series of steps in creating the memorial found in Veterans Park today, which displays hundreds of bricks bearing the names of veterans. Six of those bricks are inscribed with names of Seiler’s family members. Throughout the following year, Seiler said City Council collaborated on design and construction of the memorial with engineers from Kingsley Field. “It was probably the best project I’ve worked on in terms of community support,” Seiler said. “People just turned out in droves.” Seiler noted the success of this memorial project, which was completed in 2008, was partly due to the level of community involvement in the process. In the case of the plane in the park, Seiler says there has been very little communication with the public. “Veterans were never consulted on this. There was no public input at all; Now, we’re play catch-up.” At the last City Council meeting, Klamath County Commissioner Phil Studenberg said that the plane in the park was part of a larger package that had passed with a unanimous vote. Council and county documents state the jet for the display may be an F-15 jet, like those used by pilots at Kingsley Airfield. A similar display can be found outside of the Crater Lake – Klamath Regional Airport. “Councilman Bud Hart, who was a Navy vet, took the lead with the base and we paid for and sited a jet at the airport,” Seiler said. “We’ve already honored vets in that way.” County commissioners and City Council members were unavailable for comment over the holiday weekend. The City Council has a public hearing scheduled at 7p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6 during which Seiler and other Klamath Falls residents plan to take to the podium to express their disapproval once more. The public hearing will be held in the Council Chambers at the City Hall Annex Building, 500 Klamath Ave. For information on how to participate in the meeting, go to tinyurl.com/HN-City-Council. Seiler, however, said she will use her three minutes to present an alternative proposal, one she believes could bring the community together and improve eco-tourism. Veterans Park is the venue used for Memorial Day and Veterans Day gatherings, as well as other local events. The location, Seiler said, does not meet ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards. She recalls events setting up folding chairs on uneven ground, which proved difficult to traverse for the elderly and disabled veterans. “They won’t stop coming,” Seiler said. “This was built for them, and they need to be accommodated.” One aspect of her proposal is to add sidewalks through a portion of the southern half of the park for vendors to set up accessible booths at events. Her plan also includes an ADA-approved playground. Veterans Park is located along Euwana Lake and provides a walking trail along a portion of the waterfront. Seiler’s proposal includes lengthening this trail and she hopes to connect it over to OC & E trail. Trail extensions to the east, Seiler suggests, could follow a path up to the trestles and loop back around to Wing Watchers. “Market it as a three-trail package with the Link River Trail,” Seiler said. Along the trail, Seiler wants to include historical markers that tell the story of the Klamath Basin and all of its communities. “Looking at the indigenous history, the lumber mill history, the agricultural history,” Seiler said. “There’s a big history in this community.” The $600,000 intended for the plane project would be seed money to get the ball rolling Seiler said. “That’s my vision, to look at this holistically.”

At a City Council meeting held in August, members of the community took their turns standing before the council. The Klamath Falls residents who spoke used their allotted three minutes to express concerns and dismay regarding the plans to use COVID-19 relief funds to build a display featuring a decommissioned F-15 jet in Veterans Memorial Park.

Funding from the Biden administration’s COVID-19 relief package, the American Rescue Plan Act, will be used to pay for the $600,000 display.

“This is a really special place for our community. I wasn’t surprised by the outcry at all,” Trish Seiler said, “but council was.”

Seiler served on City Council for 16 years. In that time, she remembers facing similar outcries after the city announced a project proposal to build an ice skating rink in the park, back in the early 2000s.

Community members made themselves heard then as well, adamant in their disapproval of the proposal.

“Once we had put that notion to rest, I talked to the city manager,” Seiler recalled, “and I said, ‘You know this is going to happen, again. We need to build a memorial.’”

Seiler’s words of wisdom were the first in a series of steps in creating the memorial found in Veterans Park today, which displays hundreds of bricks bearing the names of veterans. Six of those bricks are inscribed with names of Seiler’s family members.

Throughout the following year, Seiler said City Council collaborated on design and construction of the memorial with engineers from Kingsley Field.

“It was probably the best project I’ve worked on in terms of community support,” Seiler said. “People just turned out in droves.”

Seiler noted the success of this memorial project, which was completed in 2008, was partly due to the level of community involvement in the process. In the case of the plane in the park, Seiler says there has been very little communication with the public.

“Veterans were never consulted on this. There was no public input at all; Now, we’re play catch-up.”

At the last City Council meeting, Klamath County Commissioner Phil Studenberg said that the plane in the park was part of a larger package that had passed with a unanimous vote.

Council and county documents state the jet for the display may be an F-15 jet, like those used by pilots at Kingsley Airfield.

A similar display can be found outside of the Crater Lake – Klamath Regional Airport.

“Councilman Bud Hart, who was a Navy vet, took the lead with the base and we paid for and sited a jet at the airport,” Seiler said. “We’ve already honored vets in that way.”

County commissioners and City Council members were unavailable for comment over the holiday weekend.

The City Council has a public hearing scheduled at 7p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6 during which Seiler and other Klamath Falls residents plan to take to the podium to express their disapproval once more. The public hearing will be held in the Council Chambers at the City Hall Annex Building, 500 Klamath Ave. For information on how to participate in the meeting, go to tinyurl.com/HN-City-Council.

Seiler, however, said she will use her three minutes to present an alternative proposal, one she believes could bring the community together and improve eco-tourism.

Veterans Park is the venue used for Memorial Day and Veterans Day gatherings, as well as other local events. The location, Seiler said, does not meet ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards. She recalls events setting up folding chairs on uneven ground, which proved difficult to traverse for the elderly and disabled veterans.

“They won’t stop coming,” Seiler said. “This was built for them, and they need to be accommodated.”

One aspect of her proposal is to add sidewalks through a portion of the southern half of the park for vendors to set up accessible booths at events. Her plan also includes an ADA-approved playground.

Veterans Park is located along Euwana Lake and provides a walking trail along a portion of the waterfront. Seiler’s proposal includes lengthening this trail and she hopes to connect it over to OC & E trail. Trail extensions to the east, Seiler suggests, could follow a path up to the trestles and loop back around to Wing Watchers.

“Market it as a three-trail package with the Link River Trail,” Seiler said.

Along the trail, Seiler wants to include historical markers that tell the story of the Klamath Basin and all of its communities.

“Looking at the indigenous history, the lumber mill history, the agricultural history,” Seiler said. “There’s a big history in this community.”

The $600,000 intended for the plane project would be seed money to get the ball rolling Seiler said.

“That’s my vision, to look at this holistically.”

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