Public meeting scheduled to solicit ideas for memorial honoring war heroes

The City will hold a public meeting from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 27 in the Municipal Auditorium basement, 100 Auditorium Circle.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss planning and design possibilities with the design consultant, Barbara Grygutis, on the projected Medal of Honor (MOH) memorial as she enters into the research and design phase.

Grygutis is a nationally renowned artist from Tucson, Arizona. One of her most notable projects is the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial in Columbia, Missouri.

In June of 2007 Mayor Phil Hardberger took the first steps toward creating this historical project. After renaming the “Auditorium Circle Historic District” to “Veterans Memorial Plaza Historical District”, Mayor Hardberger commissioned the City’s Veterans Affairs Commission to create a memorial to honor local Medal of Honor recipients.

The MOH project will be fully funded by private donations. The memorial will complement downtown’s tourist attractions and the planned Performing Arts Center slated for the Municipal Auditorium.