Oak Grove board leans toward costlier memorial path

Oak Grove Cemetery Board of Trustees · Meeting of October 6, 2026

MEDFORD — Oak Grove Cemetery trustees lean toward a costlier, curved accessibility path for the World War I Memorial and weigh a tradeoff of hundreds of burial spaces for the Seven Acres expansion. Project consultant DJ presented two path designs for the memorial, pegged at roughly $140,000 and $150,000, after the Medford Community Preservation Committee approved $35,000 for design work following a $12,850 request. Board members favored the pricier Scheme B, with one member saying of the cheaper option, "it's easier for somebody to get in an accident if they're backing out someone in a wheelchair." On the Seven Acres project, DJ said a curvilinear layout would fit about 1,810 burial spaces versus about 2,380 for a fully rectilinear design, "about a 30 percent increase," with a hybrid likely landing near 2,100 to 2,200.

Doug Carr of the Brooks Estate Land Trust and Community Preservation Committee praised both projects but pressed for trail connections and earlier input from Councilor Behrs. Cemetery Superintendent Steve reported the World War II Memorial Fountain is shut down again over unresolved geese and winterization problems.

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Source: the Oak Grove Cemetery Board of Trustees meeting of October 6, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.