Jefferson County – A permanent memorial to those killed and injured in April 1999 at Columbine High School will be scaled back to reduce costs, with a target of breaking ground in the spring.
The Columbine Memorial Committee has directed the design team to revise its scope in light of slow fundraising. The original plan cost $2.5 million. The new version will cost $1.5 million.
Community members, frustrated by how long it has taken to raise funds, have joined the effort.
“It’s time to get this thing done for a lot of reasons,” said Bob Easton, committee chairman and executive director of Foothills Park and Recreation District.
The district manages Clement Park, where the memorial is planned on a site nestled into Rebel Hill, west of the school.
Most of the changes will involve using less-expensive materials. Final figures and drawings should be available by the end of this month.
Other projects have competed for donations – from the new Columbine library to relief efforts following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and last year’s tsunami in Asia. President Clinton pledged help while in office and raised $300,000 at a Denver gala last summer. He later donated $10,000 personally and $10,000 from a family foundation.
Boosts by Clinton and other national figures are being pursued while a fundraising campaign has been put on hold as donations flow to Gulf Coast hurricane relief.
Easton said Wednesday that most of the families of the 12 students and teacher slain and two dozen injured agree with the scaled-back project.
“We have seen some of what they have suggested, and it still holds the heart of the memorial,” said Dee Fleming, whose daughter Kelly was killed.
“It will be a great place to remember and reflect, a peaceful place where people can hold each other a little tighter and be grateful for all they have,” she said.
The families agreed to use $338,000 left over from building a new library at the high school. The amount puts the cash and in-kind donations at nearly $1 million, leaving about $550,000 to raise. An outer stone ring of healing and an inner ring of remembrance remain the memorial’s core. Revisions include eliminating a “grand staircase” from the memorial to the top of Rebel Hill; downsizing a water feature; using native Colorado sandstone instead of polished granite; and sowing native wildflower seeds in lieu of elaborate plantings.
Jumping in with no fundraising experience has been Ruth Feldman, who manages two Dairy Queen stores in south Jefferson County and is a neighbor of the Flemings.
Since July, when the Flemings told her about a benefit for the memorial, Feldman has raised about $7,000 through car washes, T-shirt sales, pony rides and events at restaurants.
“I really want to see this memorial become reality,” Feldman said.
“I don’t care how many cars we have to wash,” she said, “we will raise the money.”
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
