Former Mounds View mayor Carol Mueller has heard about how neighbors helped each other following a series of tornadoes in that ripped through the Twin Cities in 1965, killing 13 people including several in her city. Residents provided each other with shelter, food and clothing or helped rebuild homes, Mueller said in remarks at a city council meeting earlier this month. It was one of several stories council members heard before voting 5-0 earlier this month to approve the concept and design plans for a park that will recognize several deadly disasters in Mounds View’s history as well as the first responders to the scenes and military members. Paul Eickstadt, 51, of Mounds View, who died in the collapse of the Interstate 35W highway bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis on Aug. 1, 2007. (Courtesy of the family) The tribute park, planned to be located in City Hall Park, is intended to include spaces dedicated to veterans and military members, first responders and those impacted by the tornadoes; a 1986 pipeline explosion in Mounds View that killed two residents and the 2007 collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge, which killed 13, including two Mounds View residents. The idea came in part from the donation of a part of the I-35W bridge to the city by the Eickstadt family as well as a desire to remember those who had died. Paul Eickstadt, who died in the bridge collapse, was a Mounds View resident, described at Monday’s meeting as a kind and reserved man who enjoyed fishing. Mounds View resident Patrick Holmes, who also died in the I-35W bridge collapse, was a youth baseball coach. The city gives an annual coach of the year award in Holmes’s memory, Mueller said. ‘All that matters’ Also among those who spoke during a Jan. 13 city council meeting on the project were Bob Jacobson, Don Spano and Spano’s wife Cindy Spano. Spano’s first wife Beverly and their daughter Jennifer were killed in July of 1986 in Mounds View when a Williams Pipe Line Co. line ruptured, sending a wall of fire through a Mounds View neighborhood in the early morning. Jacobson, who now works as the state commissioner of public safety but was at the time a police officer, was among the first responders on the scene of the explosion. D. G. Erickson, center, and his two sons salvage what they can, including a baseball bat, from their home on Lois Drive in Mounds View on May 8, 1965. Erickson’s wife and three children survived the tornado that leveled their home on Thursday night May 6, 1965, while he was at work. Rescuers found them trapped under wreckage in the basement, but no one was seriously injured. (Pioneer Press File) “Bob’s details of the event made us eternally grateful to know that Bev did not lay there by herself, unattended, scared, in pain, waiting,” Cindy said at the meeting. “As a person who has had an event in their life, you only know how you feel during that time. You are waiting for first responders to come and assist, because they will make it all better, or at least we feel that they can. You or your loved ones are being taken care of, and that’s all that matters at that point.” An office of pipeline safety was created within the department following the explosion, Jacobson noted. He added that he has spent time speaking at conferences where pipeline inspectors from around the country can learn about safety. In that time, Jacobson said he has shared the story of the Spanos. “It felt like that was time for me to come home and to make a connection with them as well, and to share the story so that other inspectors who are out there working for all of us know that there are those who have suffered because of lack of safety, and we do not ever want to repeat of a 26-year-old police officer kneeling in a driveway with a Bev Spano or Jennifer Spano,” Jacobson said. Patrick Holmes, 36, of Mounds View, died in the collapse of the Interstate 35W highway bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis on Aug. 1, 2007. (Courtesy of Jennifer Holmes) A place to reflect City administrator Nyle Zikmund, who was a fire department engine operator responding to the 1986 explosion, remembers leaving his home at 4:30 a.m. that day to respond to the incident and not returning until midnight. Zikmund helped Jacobson and Spano, who now lives in Wisconsin, meet this past fall and the two agreed to speak about their experiences at the meeting. A park would give first responders and the families impacted by tragedies a place to reflect, Zikmund said. “And when you need to do that, I think it’s absolutely critical, important. There’s still many … firefighters that are around from that call,” Zikmund said. Pavers engraved with names will be sold to anyone wanting to honor their loved ones, whether that’s veterans or first responders, said Karen Mills, a member of the park’s planning committee which was started two years ago. The Eickstadt family’s donation is expected to be incorporated into the park. The project is estimated to cost $250,000 to $270,000 and is expected to be funded by donations and grants. Cars are strewn on the collapsed portion of the Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis after it collapsed into the river during evening rush hour on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007. (Brandi Jade Thomas / Pioneer Press) Donations as of Jan. 16 were a little more than $61,000, according to Zikmund. At the Jan. 13 meeting, the Spring Lake Park, Blaine, Mounds View Fire Department’s relief association donated $50,000, and the Mounds View Lions Club shared plans to donate a total of $5,000. Remaining funds have come from other donations or the purchase of pavers. The city could consider paying up to $175,000 for the park if donations needs are not met. Components of the park are expected to have individual dedications at a September event, according to Zikmund. “As a police officer and firefighter, you do what your duty calls you to do, and when that time is done, you gather yourself as best you can, and you go back to work helping others that are waiting for you to arrive. And that’s what we do each day as first responders, as police officers and firefighters,” Jacobson said. Mills, whose father was a veteran, hopes she can one day bring her children to the park. She said that for her, the park has been like a love letter to him because her children will one day be able to see his name there. First responders provide people with hope and care, and the park will be a place to think of them and others, Cindy said. “So this dedication, this tribute, this area, to take time to reflect, is going to be a beautiful space to remember those we have lost, those who have suffered and those who have been and continue to be an immense service to this community,” she said. Related Articles Local News | Lake Phalen Rowing lands on national map following teens’ victory in Boston regatta Local News | Former St. Paul charter school substitute teacher charged with sexual misconduct with student Local News | Mounds View approves price ordinance for waste haulers Local News | Mounds View elections: Smith and Meehlhause win city council race Local News | Recount possible for Ramsey County Board race. Mounds View, Roseville decide ballot measures.