Committee OKs $100,000 to hire experts to evaluate options for Soldier's Monument

The Santa Fe Finance Committee approved a $100,000 budget amendment Feb. 24 to fund contracts for experts to evaluate options for the Soldier's Monument, including the feasibility of reconstructing the monument without the fourth plaque and whether the monument should be moved or repaired.

City Manager Mark Scott and staff told the committee the first step is a condition-and-feasibility analysis. "We're hiring somebody to evaluate the feasibility of being able to reconstruct the monument without the fourth plaque, and that's going to help us in determining kind of next steps," Scott said. The study is intended to determine how much new material would be needed, structural repair options and whether reconstruction is practicable.

Scott said staff have identified at least one firm believed to have the capacity to do the analysis and that the work will proceed in coordination with the governing-body resolution passed last year. "The purpose right now is to make sure that we know what the options are because it obviously, it's a very difficult emotion-laden issue," Scott said.

The committee approved the allocation on a voice vote and subsequent roll call. Councilor Cassett, Councilor Lindell, Councilor Lee Garcia and Chair Romero Worth recorded yes votes; the motion passed. Staff said the contract will examine reconstruction, repair and relocation options and return to the governing body with findings that will inform any further action.

The study will be used to assess structural condition, material needs and the logistics and costs associated with moving or altering the monument; it does not itself change the monument's status. City staff said the contract will be scoped to produce an options analysis to inform the governing body's next policy decisions.