The Kelleys were considering moving out of state before tragedy hit Thousand Oaks. What kept them here was the support they saw after the Borderline Bar & Grill mass shooting and the Woolsey fire.

“The support, immediate, massive and ongoing support,” said Mike Kelley on Monday. “This is home.”

The Borderline Bar and Grill sign has become part of the makeshift memorial for the 12 victims of the mass shooting at the closed Thousand Oaks club. A “Healing Garden” is being constructed at Conejo Creek North Park for the Borderline memorial. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Construction begins on the “Healing Garden” at Conejo Creek North Park in Thousand Oaks for the 12 victims of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill on Monday, September 9, 2019. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Sound The gallery will resume in seconds

A dragon fly visits the pond where construction begins on the “Healing Garden” at Conejo Creek North Park in Thousand Oaks for the 12 victims of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill on Monday, September 9, 2019. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Pola Rodriguez walks past construction on the “Healing Garden” at Conejo Creek North Park in Thousand Oaks for the 12 victims of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill on Monday, September 9, 2019. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Justin Meek’s memorial, one of 12 victims of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, seen on Monday, September 9, 2019 at the closed club. A “Healing Garden” is being constructed at Conejo Creek North Park for the Borderline memorial. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)



Ventura County Sgt. Ron Helus memorial, one of 12 victims of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, seen on Monday, September 9, 2019 at the closed club. A “Healing Garden” is being constructed at Conejo Creek North Park for the Borderline memorial. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

A wagon wheel memorial for the 12 victims of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks is seen on Monday, September 9, 2019 at the closed club. A “Healing Garden” is being constructed at Conejo Creek North Park for the Borderline memorial. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Mike and Betty Kelley, of Newbury Park and neighbors to Jake Dunham, one of 12 victims of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill, visit the makeshift memorial at the closed club in Thousand Oaks on Monday, September 9, 2019. A “Healing Garden” is being constructed at Conejo Creek North Park for the Borderline memorial. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Memorial rocks for the 12 victims of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks are seen on Monday, September 9, 2019 at the closed club. A “Healing Garden” is being constructed at Conejo Creek North Park for the Borderline memorial. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

“Home” is getting a “Healing Garden” at Conejo Creek North Park in Thousand Oaks to honor 12 innocent lives lost.

The Garden began its march toward completion Monday as crews began construction on the Thousand Oaks memorial, with a goal of finishing it by Nov. 7, the one-year anniversary of the Borderline mass shooting.

A skip loader moved dirt just south of an existing pond, home to turtles and koi. And soon, the sounds of loaders and crews will give way to a place of reflection.

The Healing Garden will be built at Conejo Creek North Park, the city’s most popular park.

It will honor:

RON HELUS : The Ventura County Sheriff sergeant was shot running into the Borderline Bar to help.

: The Ventura County Sheriff sergeant was shot running into the Borderline Bar to help. CODY COFFMAN : The 22-year-old had been meeting with recruiters and planned to enlist in the Army.

: The 22-year-old had been meeting with recruiters and planned to enlist in the Army. JUSTIN MEEK: He worked as a promoter at Borderline Bar. The 23-year-old was a former student at Cal Lutheran.

He worked as a promoter at Borderline Bar. The 23-year-old was a former student at Cal Lutheran. NOEL SPARKS: She was a Moorpark College student who liked horseback riding.

She was a Moorpark College student who liked horseback riding. ALAINA HOUSLEY: The 18-year-old was a Pepperdine University freshman who aimed to study law.

The 18-year-old was a Pepperdine University freshman who aimed to study law. TELEMACHUS ORFANOS: He had the misfortune of being at the Las Vegas mass shooting and the one in Thousand Oaks.

He had the misfortune of being at the Las Vegas mass shooting and the one in Thousand Oaks. SEAN ADLER: He was a security guard at the bar, but he has just opened his dream business: a coffeehouse.

He was a security guard at the bar, but he has just opened his dream business: a coffeehouse. DANIEL MANRIQUE: He was an ex-Marine sergeant who dedicated his life to helping emotionally scarred veterans get back on their feet.

He was an ex-Marine sergeant who dedicated his life to helping emotionally scarred veterans get back on their feet. BLAKE DINGMAN: This 21-year-old Newbury Park resident played high school baseball at Hillcrest Christian School in Thousand Oaks.

This 21-year-old Newbury Park resident played high school baseball at Hillcrest Christian School in Thousand Oaks. JAKE DUNHAM: He always answers his phone, his father said, but it just keeps ringing.

He always answers his phone, his father said, but it just keeps ringing. KRISTINA MORISETTE : She graduated from Simi Valley High School and reportedly worked as a cashier at the bar.

: She graduated from Simi Valley High School and reportedly worked as a cashier at the bar. MARKY MEZA JR.: He worked as a busboy and food runner at the bar and would have turned 21 in less than two weeks.

READ THEIR STORIES here

RELATED STORY: Borderline shooting memorial design set to be unveiled before Thousand Oaks City Council

A group comprised of city and park officials, Ventura County sheriff’s officials and Cal Lutheran staff recommended building the memorial at the park by the one-year anniversary of the shooting.

Thousand Oaks Mayor Rob McCoy said officials were unwilling to let the building of a memorial languish for years, as it has for the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

“We wanted to have that in place (in Thousand Oaks) because we’ll never forget that day,” McCoy told the Daily News in June, when the garden’s design was unveiled. “While it’s a place for the families to come, it’s a place for the entire city to come. Every resident, over 160,000 residents were affected.”

And so, officials are on a fast track to having it completed by that November anniversary date.

When it’s done, the “Borderline 12” will be represented by a fountain feature with 12 vertical jets in the center of a pond, according to the city’s plan.

The scene will symbolize the broader community. There will be a contemplation area, where a shoreline will include seating and landscaping. A large Oak will be planted bordering the garden area. A boulder will introduce visitors to the Healing Garden at its entryway.

There will be 12 large natural stone-slab benches along the plaza — granite to illustrate the strength of the community. A unique color will designate 248 pavers in a scene that will represent the number of survivors from that night. And at the site’s north end, the existing Lakeside Pavilion will offer space for community events and other gatherings.

On June 25, the city of Thousand Oaks approved a grant agreement with Conejo Recreation and Park District for $250,000 to provide funding for the construction.

Since November, Borderline has itself become a place of reflection.

Kelley touched one of twelve crosses at the makeshift memorial outside the closed club. It was there for Jake Dunham, one of the 12 victims and Kelley’s Newbury Park neighbor. Kelley and his wife watched Dunham grow up.

“He was a force,” Kelley said of the young man who rode motorcycles and worked on his truck with friends in the family garage.

“Watching his mother light his lantern (one of 12) and set it free was the single most emotional event I’ve ever seen in my life,” Kelley said.

The question is where will all the photos, bibles, cowboy boots, rocks, hearts and the ceramic “Love” and “Peace” sculpture end up after the formal memorial is built.

Since the Borderline massacre, 2019 has continued to be a year in which gun violence in the United States is taking a deadly toll.

According to Mass Shooting Tracker, which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are shot (but not necessarily killed), there have been 352 such incidents in the United States this year.

And of those, according to the New York Times, which compiled MST’s and other data for a report, there were 38 shootings by the end of August in which three or more people were killed (the Department of Justice defines a mass killing as an episode in which three or more are killed). That number — 38 — includes the shooting in El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 3, in which 22 were killed.

Assignment Editor Ryan Carter contributed to this story.