Ana Honsowetz, a local muralist and designer, recently completed a mural at All Natural Pet Supply in Battle Ground. Now, her latest concept, proposed for the soon-to-open pickleball courts at Kiwanis Park, is sparking early excitement, creative dialogue and ideas for community collaboration.
Honsowetz presented two concept options to the city’s Parks & Community Engagement Advisory Board (PACE) on Wednesday, June 11, calling them “Buzzing Through Time: A Tribute to Battle Ground” and “Buzzing Through Time: A Celebration of Pollinators and Place. The designs are not final but are intended to inspire ideas and gauge the board’s interest ahead of a formal bidding process.
“This was an idea that I pitched to the PACE Board probably going on two years now,” Honsowetz told The Reflector. “We were just talking about ways to create iconic features throughout Battle Ground, celebrate, as I said, what came before and kind of creating that space for ourselves today that people can really feel connected to.”
One version of the mural incorporates local nature, bees and proposes including iconic buildings from the city’s past and present. The second leans more abstract, focusing on vibrant plant life, pollinator imagery, and large honeycomb patterns.
“So the first one is more literal... and then [there are] two panels that will have the community together working on different projects,” Honsowetz said, referring to one concept. “So it’s something to display what Battle Ground was when it was just nature, what Battle Ground has become and what it will be and what we want it to be in terms of having more community engagement and involvement within each other.”
PACE board members responded positively to both mural options, with many highlighting a desire to feature recognizable structures from the city’s Old Town and downtown areas. Suggestions included the silos near Anderson Dairy and the historic church now housing Dev’s Coffee Bar. Some also noted the mountain imagery in one of the designs should represent Mt. St. Helens, aligning with the city’s logo and identity.
“There is definite room for like morphing and moving and changing different buildings from the first [concept],” Honsowetz said. “And having more community-specific elements.”
Honsowetz emphasized that she wants the mural to be a shared effort, involving volunteers in the painting process to some capacity.
“I would go in, I would do the background, I would then sketch out the areas and then invite the community to come and I’d be like, OK, you can do the background for this color and you can do for this color and this color,” she said. “And we hopefully have one to two days of that, and then after everyone with the community weekend is kind of over, I’ll go in and do all the finishing touches of the details to look great.”
PACE board members discussed different ways the community could participate, including allowing students to fill in elements like honeycomb cells with monochromatic shades. The city is also considering holding a school-wide contest to feature student artwork inside select cells of the mural.
“The bumblebee particularly is a tribute to the volunteer spirit here in Battle Ground,” Communications Manager Alisha Smith said, referencing the city’s history of volunteer-built floats for the Portland Rose Festival. “They always incorporated a bumblebee into every design... so that’s kind of where the bumblebee aspect came into play.”
The proposed mural wall, a sound barrier on the south side of the pickleball courts currently in development, stands 10 feet tall and stretches roughly 125 feet in length. It would be visible to players and visitors entering from either direction. The cost of the project is currently estimated at around $31,000, a price point that triggers a formal bidding process in accordance with state procurement rules.
City staff made it clear that while Honsowetz’s work is inspiring, no final artist or design has been selected.
“Today’s presentation was meant to inspire what could be,” Smith said. “It’ll be an excellent advertisement for her skill, but [we’re] not making any commitments to this being the end design, or even the artist we’ll go with.”
If chosen, Honsowetz hopes to start painting in July 2026, aligning with the city’s 75th anniversary celebration. Board members discussed the potential of coordinating a public mural-painting event that month, complete with food vendors and festivities, to mark the milestone and bring the community together around the project.
Readers can learn more about Honsowetz’s work at anatheartist.net.
City to launch McConnell Park survey, seeking input on future amenities
Additionally, during the meeting, the city of Battle Ground is preparing to distribute a community survey aimed at shaping the future of McConnell Park, following recent upgrades that include a new covered picnic shelter and play structure.
The survey will be distributed both digitally and through targeted mailings to nearby residents. Officials plan to share it on social media, the city website, and via a press release to capture both neighborhood-specific and citywide feedback.
Key discussion points included preserving the park’s open space, improving accessibility, and considering amenities like climbing features or sports courts. Community feedback will inform a preliminary design plan, which could eventually support future grant funding or capital projects.
“I’m excited to see what people say,” PACE board member Chris Brown said. “From my observations, the things that people seem to like most about the park is the open space.”
Zacharey French, the board’s youth representative, added that accessibility should be a priority.
“I would say I’d like to see possibly adding like an ADA kind of structure,” French said. “I don’t know if the city currently has any of those yet, but I think it’d be nice to see.”
The park, located in the city’s northwest quadrant, serves a large residential population and is frequently used for informal recreation. Comments from the meeting noted that despite recent updates, the play equipment currently skews younger and might not serve older children as well.
Survey responses will help determine next steps, though no construction timeline or budget has been finalized. Suggestions gathered so far include swings, natural climbing structures, basketball courts and ways to better manage traffic and safety near park entrances.
Communications Manager Alisha Smith said the survey is expected to launch the week following the meeting.
Additionally, during the PACE board meeting, Deputy City Manager Rob Ferrier announced muralist Will Sykes will begin Battle Ground’s first city-commissioned mural at the skate park on July 8. The process is expected to take just over a week, depending on the weather, and will feature tiger heads with a lightning background. Readers can read The Reflector’s previous coverage on the mural at thereflector.com/stories/battle-ground-backs-citys-first-commissioned-mural-at-skate-park,380680.
