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Norton Board of Control approves Veterans Memorial work, shifts park capital to cover shortfall
Summary
The Norton Board of Control approved a contract related to the Veterans Memorial and separately approved purchase of pavers. Council members discussed higher-than-expected costs, fundraising targets and a plan to move park capital funds and use a high school masonry class for installation.
The Norton Board of Control on Jan. 6 approved contracts and purchases to advance a planned Veterans Memorial, and agreed to move park capital funds to cover part of a higher-than-expected project cost.
City staff told the board the memorial bid reflected additions since an earlier estimate, including a memorial walkway and four additional monuments. The board approved the memorial contract (amount stated in the meeting record: not specified in the transcript) and later approved a separate purchase of unengraved pavers for the memorial for an amount not to exceed $13,313.79.
Staff said the city originally budgeted $50,000 for the memorial and that an earlier ballpark estimate from “Mr. Towsley” of the Williams Group had been about $178,000. Staff described additions that raised the price — the walkway, lighting and four extra monuments, including an entry monument and monuments for POW, Purple Heart and boots — and said the city will move capital from the parks budget out a couple of years so the memorial costs impact only the parks capital program.
"Everything is going so well, I'm afraid to jinx it," a staff member said as work timelines and preparations were discussed. Staff said the city plans a ribbon-cutting on Memorial Day and that the high school masonry class will place the pavers; initially the pavers will be blank and engraved pavers will be rotated in as they are sold.
Board members discussed fundraising; staff said its fundraising estimate is between $75,000 and $100,000. Staff also noted other contractor quotes were substantially higher than the selected bid.
On the pavers purchase, staff described buying blank pavers and an extra pallet to support engraving and replacement as engraved pavers are sold and installed. Staff estimated a total of about 165 paver spaces; final pricing for different sizes will be set by a steering committee meeting planned for next Monday.
Votes at a glance: the minutes record a roll call approving the memorial contract and the pavers purchase. The roll call after the pavers motion recorded affirmative votes by Mr. Herbert, Mr. DeHart, Mayor Zita, Mr. Lowery, Mr. O'Loughrey and Ms. Keener.
The board also approved the minutes from its Dec. 2, 2024 meeting and adjourned the meeting at 6:15 p.m.
