The city of Selma is in the process of putting a Heroes Memorial in front of City Hall. City Administrator Johnny Casias said this project has been brought up and discussed over the last few years, but serious discussion and opportunity arose at the beginning of this year.

“We were afforded an opportunity early this year where we were able to strongly pursue this project,” Casias said. “We entered a contract with an architecture firm named RVK Architects, and with our input, their great pen to paper and some community input as well, we presented to the council a very conceptual plan for a Heroes Memorial.”

According to Casias, the city wants the memorial to encompass the nation’s veterans as well as first responders, EMS and others who serve and protect the area.

While conceptual plans have been drawn, final designs are still being worked on with the hope to present them and award a contract to a builder around February. Cost information will be available when the final design is completed and a builder receives the contract.

If all goes as planned, the Heroes Memorial should be completed by summertime with the goal to finish the project before Veterans Day.

Casias said he hopes the project will be used by the community, and people will take a moment out of their day to pay tribute to those recognized on the memorial.

“We want this memorial to recognize those heroes in our community,” Casias said. “We also hope to create the sense of a gathering spot for the community. We do have a number of parks and recreational opportunities for folks, but being able to be at one spot and pay tribute to our first responders and our veterans, that is our hope for this project.”