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County approves pared-down veterans memorial after public objections
Summary
After extensive public comment from local veterans urging placement in front of the courthouse, the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a simplified veterans memorial design at the Justice Center, authorizing up to $235,000 for Option B and encouraging private sponsorship to offset county costs.
The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners voted April 14 to authorize a pared-down veterans memorial at the new Justice Center, approving “Option B” and capping the county's commitment at $235,000.
David Lock, a landscape architect with Stockwell Engineers, presented the revised design the board requested at a prior meeting. Lock said the updated concept removes the outer landscaping and retains the arrangement of monuments, benches and pavers with a central welcoming monument and separate branch monuments. "We kept the benches, the trees, the pavers around the outer edge for donor opportunities," Lock said. He also described six flush-in-the-ground flag sleeves for branch flags on holidays.
Members of the public, several of them veterans, urged the commissioners to relocate the memorial to the front of the courthouse and said veterans had not been adequately consulted. "This is not a veterans memorial and it is not in the right place," said Scott Montgomery, a retired master sergeant who identified himself during public comment. Paul Osleen, a 22-year Army veteran, said memorials should be visible 24/7 and suggested moving the existing courthouse memorial forward rather than building a new one out of public view.
Commissioners debated the trade-offs between delaying the project to achieve broader veteran consensus and proceeding now to take advantage of contractors already on site. Commissioner Schmidt described prior outreach efforts and said the county had asked Stockwell for a more cost-effective design. "Choosing the simpler, pared-down, more affordable option doesn't diminish the honor the county is trying to give to its veterans," Schmidt said.
A motion to approve Option B for no more than $235,000 passed on a roll-call vote. The final recorded vote was three in favor (Commissioners Schmidt, Uton and Landine) and two opposed (Commissioners Putnham and Arens). After the vote, a commissioner asked Stockwell to consider serving as a major donor to the project.
What happens next: staff will move forward on the approved design and coordinate donor opportunities for pavers and other add-ons the design reserves for private sponsorship. The board did not direct the relocation of the existing courthouse memorial; questions about moving donor-installed pavers at the courthouse remain unresolved and were cited by staff as a factor in prior decisions about relocation.
