ONE VIEW of a possible Quang Tri monument (City of Westminster).

By Amir Ghani/Orange County Tribune

After hours of discussion at Wednesday’s meeting, the Westminster City Council still has not decided on a location for the Quang Tri Victory Memorial, delaying the vote to November.

A few residents spoke up during the city council meeting, voicing their dissent towards the building of the monument on public land and instead proposing it be built on private property.

Other citizens spoke out against building the monument on private land, saying its proximity to the cemetery would make travelers wary of visiting.

On both sides, citizens urged the council to not use this topic for personal political gain.

The private facility Westminster Memorial Park was contacted in regards to their space being used as the site for the Quang Tri Victory Monument. Their staff is currently in the process of converting their currently designated park space into cemetery use.

There is already a concern for a potential lack of public park space, and if the monument is built, there may be a potential impact on future events and activities.

A motion was brought forward by Councilmember Kimberly Ho to defer the vote to the first council meeting in November, which will occur the day after the local election.

“I have no problem making a decision tonight,” said Westminster Mayor Tri Ta, “I feel that the contribution of the Vietnamese-American community is not being recognized.”

Though he said this, he mulled Ho’s motion to pause the vote until November due to worries regarding the city’s budget and the discussion of possible new locations for the monument at either Heritage Park or Freedom Park.

The mayor and city council requested their staff to conduct a study on which of these locations would be best suited for the monument.

Ta then seconded Ho’s motion and began the vote to continue the monument’s discussion in November, after new information about the locations has been detailed.

The motion was carried forward with four yes votes and one no vote from Councilmember Tai Do. The discussion regarding the building of the Quang Tri Victory Monument and its location will continue during the city council meeting on Nov. 9.