Costa Mesa considers helping to fund a veterans museum at the fairgrounds

The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday will consider donating funds for a veterans museum planned for the Orange County fairgrounds.

Orange County Fair Board member Nick Berardino, a veteran of the Vietnam War, spearheaded the effort to open Hero’s Hall, a museum that would honor Orange County veterans from all branches of the military and commemorate the fairgrounds’ history as a former Army base.

While the majority of the project would be funded by the fair board, Costa Mesa’s proposed $25,000 contribution would help fund the construction of the displays and possibly pay for staff and general upkeep of the museum, according to a city staff report.

When Mayor Steve Mensinger learned of the project from Berardino, he asked staff to come up with a report to help the City Council weigh whether to support a contribution of funds.

“As a city, we’ve been trying to find a good way to remember and thank our veterans,” Mensinger said. “I think this project would be one we’d like to contribute to.”

The Orange County Employee Assn. recently pledged $25,000 to the endeavor.

The museum will be inside the Memorial Gardens Building, a former Army barracks from World War II, near Centennial Farm on the fairgrounds property.

The Memorial Gardens Building, named after a veterans memorial garden that was removed in the 1980s, had previously been slated for demolition to make way for the new entrance to the Pacific Amphitheatre.

However, veterans groups objected. In response, the fair board decided to relocate the building and turn it into a veterans museum.

The museum is tentatively planned to open on Veterans Day in 2016.

The City Council meeting will begin at 5:45 p.m. at 77 Fair Drive.