Local News in Brief : AIDS Monument Shelved

A plan for a monument in West Hollywood to honor people who have died of AIDS has been shelved amid controversy over spending money for artwork at a time when victims of the disease face financial hardship.

Instead of a monument, which was expected to cost $120,000 to $160,000, city officials are considering designating a small grove of trees and a walkway in the soon-to-be-developed William S. Hart Park as an AIDS memorial.

City Councilman Steve Schulte, who pushed for a privately financed monument, said there was negative public reaction to the monument based on “a widespread misconception” that the city planned to pay the full cost. In fact, officials had considered using public funds only for a design competition, he said.

Several members of West Hollywood’s Fine Arts Advisory Board last month called for the competition to select an artist of international stature to design the monument.

The memorial was proposed last year by Robert Bell, a Santa Monica screenwriter, who approached city officials with his design for a 10-foot-high granite monument capped by an eternal flame.

“I guess maybe I designed the right monument at the wrong time,” Bell said after the proposal was shelved.