Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh is putting together a task force to decide the future of the city's Christopher Columbus statue and the park that will replace it.

Walsh announced last October that the statue will be moved from Columbus Circle to a private site.

He said it would be replaced with a new memorial that would more accurately portray the history of many groups.

The new Heritage Park Advisory Commission includes members of the Onondaga Nation and Syracuse's Italian American community, along with other local stakeholders. They will guide the creation of the new education site at Columbus Circle.

A separate task force will focus on the statue's relocation.

The groups will collect input through the summer, with recommendations expected later this year, and work beginning in 2022.