Yelm City Council approves construction contract for Veterans Park and Memorial Walk

The City of Yelm is one step closer to honoring local servicemen and servicewomen who served in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflicts by constructing and implementing a Veterans Park and Memorial Walk.

During a Yelm City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 28, Elizabeth Jones, Yelm projects and grants manager, sought authorization from Yelm City Council to approve a contract with Raudenbush Earthworks LLC valued at $1,088,929.75 for Phase 1 construction of Yelm’s Veterans Park and Memorial Walk.

“I want to say thank you to the VFW members who are here in support of this project,” Jones said. “This contract does not require any new appropriation of funds. The construction funding for Veterans Park Memorial Walk Phase 1 was previously approved by council through the adopted budget and will be paid from the Roads and Street Fund 360.”

Jones added that Yelm City Council had initially budgeted $1.6 million for Phase 1 construction of the Veterans Park and Memorial Walk in Yelm after engineers estimated a cost of $1.2 million to $1.5 million.

The project received 10 bids, and Raudenbush Earthworks LLC was found to be the lowest “responsive and responsible bidder.”

“This bid came in below the engineers estimate and approximately $511,000 below the amount budgeted for this construction,” Jones said.
Yelm City Council unanimously approved the $1,088,929.75 contract.

Cody Colt, Yelm Public Works director, told the Nisqually Valley News on Monday, Aug. 3, Raudenbush Earthworks LLC “should be” starting mobilization for Phase 1 this week. He added that Phase 1 itself will include road realignment, clearing of the site, stubbing out utilities, adding sidewalks and posting signage.

In March of 2025, Colt told the Nisqually Valley News that the park would include a reflection walk, which intends to honor and highlight veterans of the Korean, Vietnam, Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as well as servicemen from World War I, World War II and smaller conflicts.

Each war and conflict would feature three pillars, with the center pillar providing a description of the war, how the United States became involved and more. The pillars on the left and right would honor local veterans, prisoners of war missing in action and those killed in action who served in each specific war. Colt said previously he would like to make half the memorial a marble wall and the other half granite.