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Veterans park won't be ready for their day
(by Sue Reid - November 04, 2009)
Veterans park won't be ready for their day
By SUE REID
Solon's veterans memorial park will not be ready in time for ceremonies by this Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
There are a number of reasons the project did not make its target opening date, Assistant Public Works Director David Hromco said Monday. One of them is that the project involved a lot of intricate work, he said. October also was a rainy month, he said, and the usual construction issues came up for the project.
"We're going to try to do everything we can to try to finish it up as soon as possible," Mr. Hromco said.
He said he's disappointed that the project will not be completed by Veterans Day, as originally intended.
"I do understand the reasons for some of the delays, and we are working to circumvent those at this point in time and get this project finished up," Mr. Hromco said. "All contractors are in conformance to their contract requirements at this point in time." The cost estimate for the entire project is about $700,000.
Veterans Day ceremonies will begin at 11 a.m. at the front entrance of City Hall near the flags. The ceremony will include members of Solon's Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1863 as well as City Hall attendees and any resident who may wish to attend. There will be a luncheon for veterans following the ceremony at the Solon Senior Center. A shuttle will be available at City Hall.
Mr. Hromco said that workers will try to get the park looking as complete as possible for that day. There are three contractors on the project. Brookside Construction Services is serving as the general park improvement contractor, Alba Contractors is doing the masonry work and Foti Contractors is handling the monument work.
The main pieces of the veterans memorial park include the fountain, which is right by the intersection of Bainbridge and SOM Center (Route 91) roads, and will be lit. In addition, the park will feature a new gazebo, which was designed based upon casts of the old one.
Also, there will be a memorial area which will go around the fountain. In that area will be seven monuments to signify each branch of the military. The monuments will include names of Solon residents who served in those branches. In between the monuments will be flags representing the branches of service, as well as an American flag.
Behind the memorial area will be a low-sitting wall to look at the fountain and monuments and behind that is the rebuilt gazebo. The backdrop to the entire park is Fire Station No. 2.
City Planning Director Robert S. Frankland said the veterans memorial park is part of a larger plan for the Bainbridge and SOM Center roads intersection. He said that Fire Station No. 2 was designed in accordance with the plan and the first part was the Walgreens drugstore. That basic design has been in place since 2001 when the planning department submitted the center-of-town plan to council, Mr. Frankland said.
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