Yelm City Council agrees to hire firm to design veterans memorial park 

The Yelm City Council set in motion the creation of a veterans memorial park by authorizing work to begin on its design. 

The city council backed a proposal that calls for Mayor Joe DePinto to sign a $652,648 contract with Land Development Consultants, Inc. from Tumwater to design the property. 

The memorial park will be located on a 4.92-acre parcel at the intersection of State Route 507 and Mill Road across Tahoma Valley Golf Course. 

The project would include several memorials for multiple wars, a reflection trail, restrooms, an information kiosk, a 40-stall parking lot and sidewalk connections. 

The contract covers “master planning, civil and landscape design, permitting support, cultural resources coordination, cost estimating, and community engagement,” according to a document prepared for the meeting. 

The list of subconsultants includes the following firms: 

• BCRA for architectural services 

• GVC Transportation Solutions for traffic engineering services 

• Lanc Services Northwest for environmental permitting

• Quality Geo NW for geotechnical engineering 

• Lyon Landscape Architecture

• RC Cost Group cost estimating

• Washington Forestry Consultants for arborist services  

• Willamette CRA for cultural resources services

City of Lacey Public Services Director Cody Colt said staff expects to complete the design work by May 2026. 

The city is footing the bill for the contract. As for construction, the city has secured a $618,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce to cover the costs. The city will continue pursuing state and federal grant funding as it becomes available. 

Colt added the city could choose to build the memorial park in phases should funding come up short. The first phase could focus on the realignment of Mill Road by adding a left-turn lane and preparing the site for the parking lot.