Indio City Council to Vote on Veterans Memorial Design Wednesday

Indio City Council is set to review and potentially approve the design and full budget for a Veterans Memorial at Miles Avenue Park this Wednesday, April 15th.

The memorial, designed by Palm Springs-based Best Signs Inc., centers on seven granite pillars representing each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, National Guard, Coast Guard, Navy, and Space Force. Each pillar will feature the official seal of its branch and be lit from below at night. At the center of the curved layout stands a 30-foot flagpole displaying the American flag. According to the design breakdown on the staff report, each pillar includes an angled section intended to symbolize both a salute and a sense of loss. 

Staff consulted with Luis Bernal of the American Legion to confirm the seven-branch structure before finalizing the design.

The project budget was set for $500,000 in total, funded by pulling $350,000 from the Jackie Cochran Dog Park capital project budget and $150,000 from the City Manager's Contingency Fund. Best Signs came in as the lowest qualified bid and well below that mark at $451,651, after three companies were considered. The second bid, from G1 Construction, came in at over $1.5 million. A third company said it could not meet the project deadline.

Miles Avenue was picked as the spot for this project back in August by the Public Arts Commission, and was picked for both visibility in downtown Indio and its proximity to the existing 9/11 Memorial.

The council meeting takes place on Wednesday, April 15th, at 4:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber on the third floor of 100 Civic Center Drive in Indio. A closed session begins at 3:00 p.m.