County grant to help refurbish McCambridge Park war memorial
Burbank has received a grant from Los Angeles County that will allow them to refurbish the war memorial at McCambridge Park.
A grant from Los Angeles County could allow Burbank to make much needed improvements to its war memorial at McCambridge Park.
The Burbank City Council unanimously voted to accept a $200,000 grant from the Los Angeles County Regional Park and Open Space District via Proposition A discretionary funds during a meeting on Tuesday.
During a conversation with county Board of Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich’s staff in June, the Burbank Parks and Recreation Department was encouraged to apply for the grant, which required a shovel-ready project that benefited either youth soccer or veterans, said Judie Wilke, the city’s parks and recreation director.
“They were looking for something more turnkey that could happen pretty quickly,” she said.
A plaque honoring veterans is one of many at the memorial. Burbank has received a grant from Los Angeles County that will allow them to refurbish the war memorial at McCambridge Park.
Knowing that Antonovich has a long history of supporting veterans “and supporting our community in general,” the upgrades for the McCambridge Park war memorial seemed to be the “perfect” project to request, Wilke added.
For more than a year, Burbank has been looking to make improvements to its war memorial, which was installed at McCambridge Park on Veterans Day in 1988.
Wilke explained that there are names missing from the memorial and that several names were misspelled. Additionally, the memorial does not honor those who served in wars after the Vietnam War.
“The preliminary design of the renovated war memorial site was created to provide the community with a more prominent area to visit and host events,” she said.
A sign designating the memorial as part of the Blue Star Highway honoring veterans. Burbank has received a grant from Los Angeles County that will allow them to refurbish the war memorial at McCambridge Park.
The estimated cost for the new war memorial came in at $220,408 — $12,000 for architectural and design fees and $208,408 for the construction. The Burbank Veterans Committee, which organizes the city’s ceremonies at the park for Memorial and Veterans days, has so far collected $14,468 in donations toward the project, which puts the city $5,940 short of the project’s budget.
Construction of the new memorial includes demolishing and replacing the existing pavement at the memorial, refurbishing the bronze plaques, adding permanent service flags and additional lighting, benches and irrigation.
Councilman David Gordon recalled a recent trip he had made to Washington, D.C. and said that he was taken aback by all the moving memorials and tributes to veterans.
“It’s exceptionally important that we do dedicate funds like this for recognizing and paying tribute to [veterans] and [that we] make sure the names are spelled correctly,” he said. “These are details that I think are very important.”
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Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
