Courier Field To Get Military Memorial

PLANT CITY - After more than a year of setbacks that saw a proposed monument for war veterans lose its preferred location and then its high-profile artist, a committee dedicated to the project said it will again gain momentum in 2008.

Site plans showing the memorial as the centerpiece for a redesigned Courier Field will be submitted to city commissioners in January, said Jennifer Closshey, chairwoman of the Plant City Armed Forces Memorial Foundation.

Initially, the committee wanted the monument placed in front of city hall, but commissioners balked at the idea. Then-Mayor John Dicks was concerned that the memorial would displace the flag pole at the center of the traffic circle near the entrance to city hall.

When a proposal to reconfigure Courier Field to accommodate the expansion of Bruton Memorial Library was presented earlier this year, city officials and committee members began discussing the possibility of including the monument as part of the overall design.

The memorial likely will be completed before the library's expansion even begins - and that is fine with the city, said City Manager David Sollenberger.

"It's not a problem for us," Sollenberger said. "The commission was leaning to have the monument at Courier Field."

The committee's plans call for a park-like setting surrounding the monument, Closshey said.

That feature complements suggestions by consultants with architectural firm Harvard-Jolly, who told commissioners in May that doubling the library's size would require a portion of Courier Field to be converted into 120 parking spaces and the remaining land to be transformed to a passive park featuring an amphitheater and other amenities.

The monument has not been designed, although each branch of the military will be represented, Closshey said.

"It is for the community," she said. "It is for all veterans of all wars."

The committee has been searching for an artist since Plant City-born sculptor Harrison Covington resigned from the project a year ago because of health problems.

Covington, a World War II veteran who lives in Tampa, has his work displayed throughout the Tampa Bay area. His 8-foot-tall bronze sculpture of an aviator is at Tampa International Airport, and a 9-foot statue of a Shriner and a child stands at the Shriners International Headquarters on the Courtney Campbell Parkway.

Closshey said the committee has raised "well over $100,000" for the monument. The estimated cost of the project during Covington's involvement was between $250,000 to $500,000. The committee may apply for state grants to help offset costs and is seeking donations from individuals and corporate sponsors, Closshey said.

Sollenberger said he looks forward to reviewing the committee's site plan within the next few weeks. As for the library's expansion, it may be "another year or so before we tackle it," Sollenberger said.

According to the Harvard-Jolly study, the library must be renovated within five years to accommodate growth and demand for services. Two homes and a business north of the library along Herring Street would need to be purchased by the city to accommodate the expansion. Courier Field is north of the library, at the northwest corner of Wheeler and Herring streets.

There are no plans to use eminent domain to acquire those properties, officials said. Under eminent domain, the government can take private property for public use if a judge agrees and the owner is compensated.

Expanding the library at 302 McLendon St. from its 19,800 square feet to 40,000 square feet would cost about $6.5 million, according to the Harvard-Jolly study.