Working towards Tyler Pickett Park

For more than a decade, Tyler Pickett Memorial Park has been a “someday” project for the Town of Saratoga. Despite assurances over the years that the project was nearly shovel ready, it has remained in the planning stages.

However, that appears to be changing following the May 4 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council.

Joe Parsons, Vice Commander of Angus England American Legion Post 54, appeared before the governing body requesting Mayor Creed James approve the formation of a working group to start and finish the memorial park.

“We’ve been discussing Tyler Pickett Park since I moved here in November of 2011 and it’s been on people’s radar long before I moved here,” said Parsons. “I know it’s been on your guys’ priority list, with this new council, for a while and I think this council is perfectly posed to get some completion of Tyler Pickett Park with some of the council members that are on there.”

Pickett, a graduate of Saratoga High School, lost his life in combat on June 8, 2008 while serving in Iraq and was the only Carbon County resident to have died in the Iraq War.

Less than a year later, on January 14, 2009, the Town of Saratoga purchased property adjacent to Veterans Island for $110,000 with the intent of it being the future home of Tyler Pickett Memorial Park.

Despite fundraising from the American Legion and repeated designs presented to the public over the years, the park has been little more than a dusty, empty lot. The park was a cause championed by the late Councilmember Steve Wilcoxson, who would request annual donations from Wyoming Community Gas be earmarked for the project. 

As the project has appeared to gain steam over the years, only to remain in the development stages, so too have donations been offered to follow through with the completion of the memorial park. In 2013, a seasonal resident by the name of Tom Rodeno promised to fund the installation of an irrigation system for the park which was estimated to cost approximately $25,000.

In 2014, Norris Designs of Denver, Colorado presented future designs for Tyler Pickett Memorial Park. Those plans, at the time, included a monument to the 10th Mountain Division—which Pickett was assigned to—a memorial walkway to honor Pickett and a tribute to the American Legion. In the past, both the Boy Scouts and the National Guard have shown interest in donating to the project as well.

Following the passing of Wilcoxson in May 2020, remaining members of the council expressed their support for following through with the completion of the park. The American Legion recently took a far more active role, beyond the fundraising aspect, in October 2020 when Commander James Olguin sent a letter to the governing body.

Though funds from the Wyoming Community Gas Foundation had long been assigned to Tyler Pickett Memorial Park, donations received in August 2020 were committed to the Town of Saratoga baseball fields in support of Platte Valley Little League. This appeared to serve as a catalyst for the Legion, who requested the Town of Saratoga follow through with the construction of the park.

Councilmember Ben Spaulding, himself a veteran, has appeared to take the lead on the council in getting the park beyond the design stage. Parsons stated he had met both with Spaulding and James with the consensus that a working group be formed to oversee the project.

“We want to get a committee going and try to keep these plans a simpler design but still something that doesn’t break the bank and we’re not planning five different phases over I don’t know how many years,” said Spaulding. “The goal is this summer to start moving some dirt around and start making some headway on it.” 

According to James, a total of $33,354.54 was in the WYOSTAR account managed by the Town of Saratoga for Tyler Pickett Memorial Park as of April 7. While previous plans mentioned by Parsons included extensive curb and gutter, the installation of sod and other features totalling approximately $250,000 as of the 2010s, Parsons stated “it doesn’t have to be that” adding “it just needs to be done”.

With Spaulding presumably serving on the working group, Councilmember D’Ron Campbell, an Air Force veteran, stated she would be willing to serve on the working group as well. A motion to formally create the working group passed unanimously.

The next meeting of the Saratoga Town Council will be at 6 p.m. on May 18 at Saratoga Town Hall.