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Veterans memorial group wants to start project

Veterans memorial group wants to start project
A mockup of the colinnades for the veterans memorial, which will be placed at Parsons Municipal Building lawn, are being assembled in stages at Parsons High School. Sun photo

The president of Pathways to Freedom, the committee organized to build a veterans memorial on the north side of the Parsons Municipal Building, gave city commissioners a project update on Monday.

Carl Johnson told city commissioners that the project is now estimated to cost $300,000, which is $100,000 more than originally estimated, but fundraising is about halfway to goal. Donors are hoping to see progress, which he hopes will jump start further donations.

He asked city commissioners to consider allowing construction to start on the north lawn of the Municipal Building before fundraising was completed. But he didn’t expect an answer from city commissioners at Monday’s meeting.

Bruce Rea, who is part of the project as well, told commissioners about some project history and the three construction phases he set. Rea retired this year as a drafting instructor at Parsons High School. PHS students created the concept drawing for the memorial and Jim Kutz helped with the design.

The memorial will consist of a curved metal beam sitting atop six spaced columns. Words across the curved beam will say “Five Pathways to Freedom.” The structure would be similar to the Parsons gateway that people drive under on Main Street.

Rea told commissioners the colonnades would be made of stainless steel and powder coated black. Colonnades for the memorial are on the high school lawn between that building and Guthridge School.

Rea said local industries and businesses have supported the project, as has the school district. Magnum Systems donated the expertise of a welder. Tom Davis Chevrolet is on board to help the project. CST Storage

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and Ducommun are helping with installation and creating parts for the memorial. For example, Ducommun will cut letters for the sign from titanium that’s been used to make F-18 fighter jets and develop brackets for mounting them, he said. Ducommun also bought the first set of flags for the memorial.

He said the colonnades could be installed first at the Municipal Building to get the project underway. Concrete work and electrical work would be done in phase two. Pavers and other items would be added in phase three. Flags, which he has scheduled for phase three, could be installed sooner for project visibility.

“We’ve got much more money than we need for phase one,” Rea said.

Commissioner Eric Strait said the project site would look better for the public and potentially for future donors if it was kept neat between construction phases. This is so the memorial site didn’t look like a construction site the entire time.

Rea said the committee could make that happen.

In other matters, the commission: — Approved a $15,000 grant for Eagles LLC to purchase materials and equipment needed for the remodel of the new site for Joe’s Italian Restaurant, 3330 Main. The company is leasing to own the former Shredders Smokehouse.

— Accepted an agreement with the Kansas Department of Transportation for a $540,000 Kansas Airport Improvement Program to replace two fuel tanks at Parsons Tri-City Airport along with a card reader system. The city will provide a 10% match totaling $60,000 for the work.

— Heard a request from Casey Brown of SEK-CAP for the city to support the agency’s free transportation service in the county. The service runs three days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and Brown said ridership would benefit by switching to offering five days a week. The local match for SEKCAP would be $40,000 to offer the service. The county now supports the service with about $16,000 a year. Ridership grew from 527 in the first year to 937 last year, its second year of operation. Commissioners asked city staff to look at how the city supports Class Ltd. to see if there’s a way to use that money to support both agencies.

— Heard from Stan Basler who is asking the city to bring back the electronic sign at 16th and Main. The sign could advertise city events. The original sign, donated by Labette Health, was dismantled after maintenance costs became too much. Jim Zaleski, the city’s economic development director, said he received estimates that bringing back an electronic sign would cost upward of $100,000.

— Approved a request from Labette Assistance Center for $15,000 in D.V. Reed funds. The fund will have $21,207.11 left after the donation. LAC has operated since 1998 and has paid out $328,007 in financial assistance since January 2020. About 90% of its clients are in Parsons. The D.V. Reed trust fund is used to help the needy poor in the community.

— A trust fund created by David V. Reed — in the amount of $65,000 to $80,000 — was left to the Southeastern Kansas Home for the Friendless Association. In 1934, that group became the Parsons Old Ladies Home and moved its facility from 24th and Grand to 1607 Main. When the home ceased operating in July 1977 the interest from the trust was transferred to the city under the direction of Reed’s will. The city received income from the trust once a year to be used for the “needy poor.” Reed died in January 1928.

— Heard from Taylor Moreland of the American Advocacy Initiative in Parsons that neighborhood associations are set up for three wards in Parsons, 1, 2 and 3, but the 4th Ward hasn’t been set up. Lawn care and repair work can be scheduled through the organization for those in need without the money to complete these tasks, especially those who may appear on the city’s mowing list when the grass gets too tall.


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