WEST PARK, Fla. — West Park is a community rich in Black South Florida history.
“My grandparents moved here in the early 1940s,” said West Park resident Wanda Green Celestine. “My grandfather was a business owner. Blood, sweat and tears created the city which is known now as the city of West Park.”
It’s why city officials moved to build a “Pioneer Wall,” honoring the community’s founding families.
Construction started last year at Mary Saunders Park, but it is still unfinished.
“They spent too much money on a wall. Now they want to charge you for the wall just to put your name on it,” said West Park resident Osbourne Walker. “It shouldn’t be like that.”
City documents obtained by Local 10 News show the price for the wall was estimated to total nearly $325,000, and the cost for families to get their name on it was $500.
Under pressure Wednesday night, the city commission voted to only require a $50 application fee for families’ names to get on the wall, but figures have yet to be finalized.
City officials have yet to set a date to unveil the wall.
West Park City Commissioner Katrina Touchstone’s family has called West Park, what used to be Carver Ranches, home for generations.
“It’s just a travesty,” she said. “This is a low-income area. To me, it’s just asinine.”
Touchstone points to chaos at multiple city commission meetings for delays on the project.
She’s currently suing the mayor and other city officials, alleging misconduct in commission meetings.
Meanwhile, there are already concerns over the condition of the structure and safety around it.
“I think that a lot of repairs are going to have to be done to this,” said Touchstone.
Local 10 News reached out to West Park city officials for comment but have not heard back as of the time of this story’s publication.
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