(Spirit Lake)– Planned renovations of the veteran’s memorial plaza at the east entrance of the Dickinson County Courthouse that have stalled out numerous times in recent years are gaining some new momentum.
Steve Anderson of Milford, a veteran himself, is now leading a group of fellow veterans working to finally get the project off the drawing board. Anderson met this (Tues.) morning with the Board of Supervisors to gauge their support for the project and who’s going to be responsible for what…
“We’re dedicated to do this. Does the county want this? That’s the first question, I think. Second question is, then we’ve got to get an agreement together and break that down between the two groups, and who’s going to put that agreement together? Those are the two major asks. And then the other one is, with the people who are going to be donations to us, is it alright if we put a sign next to this saying who donated money to it.”
Supervisor Steve Dullard says there’s no doubt the county needs to address the deteriorating walkway that goes through the plaza…
“We definitely have got to get something done with this. Out around that tower it’s horrible. It’s not just the pavers, it’s the flux in the bricks. One week you go out there and you see them popping up and the next week they’re sinking. We as a county have got to move on that sidewalk. If this is part of it, we don’t want to damage our new sidewalks, then we need to see what we’re going to do there.”
The existing monuments in the plaza would need to be temporarily moved while the cement work is underway. Supervisor Chairman Bill Leupold…
“The question is, how comfortable, or how far would this board go if the veterans didn’t have the money at this time to cover that concrete?”
The county’s share of the project has been estimated at roughly $350,000 with the veteran’s group chipping in an additional $375,000. There’s also a question as to who would be responsible for covering engineering and plans and specifications for the project, estimated at roughly $90,000. Supervisor Kim Wermersen says he wants more specifics on how the costs would be shared before making a formal commitment…
“And so I guess what I would prefer to see rather than just say yeah, let’s go forward, is we do need to determine where we’re at with this. I think we owe that to the folks who are going to pay for it, right? And so what do we do to move forward with that? I think all five of us, and I’m no speaking for you four, but I think we all agree we want to go forward with this. Number one, we have to do something with the sidewalk or that tower is going to come down at some point.”
Anderson agreed to further refine the costs and will bring back a more definitive plan at a later date. To date, he says about $87,000 has been raised for the project. He says the fundraising will become more aggressive once an updated proposal is put together.
