Dear fellow citizens of Maplewood, I am a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and proud of my service to this country. For the past 2.5 years I have been following the plan for Maplewood to create a Veteran's memorial. Since first seeing the design almost 2 years ago, I have opposed its creation and voiced my concern to the City Council in public forums. However, the council continues to move forward with current plan. I am asking your help to stand with me in this fight and to stop the creation of this design.

This petition is designed to stop the bidding process for the Maplewood Veteran's Memorial. You can have any reason for signing it, such as - you don't believe a $140,000 design should be accepted when there is a $75,000 budget; you don't like the design; you would rather see money spent elsewhere; etc.  If you sign this petition, it only signifies that you do not want the current plan to move into the bidding process.

Please feel free to add a comment on the reason you are signing this petition to make your voice heard.

For me personally, I am starting this petition because I ultimately support the building of Veteran's memorial. But I expect it to be done properly. That means designed with input from veterans, reflective of the city of Maplewood and its citizens, and within the allotted budget. This project does not meet any of these requirements.

Here is a 2.5 years summary:

January 2014 – Maplewood architectural firm of Hellmuth and Bicknese was selected.
http://40southnews.com/ryan-hummert-sculpture-veterans-memorial-new-fire-house-before-maplewood-council/

August 2014 – Four designs were presented to the city council. Memorial designs were first shown publicly and location was to be in front of city hall. The planned budget is set at $75,000 of the city budget.
http://40southnews.com/maplewood-officials-weigh-in-on-veterans-memorial/

August 2015 – Memorial returns to the public eye. Three revised options were presented to the council at the meeting and were estimated to cost less than the original. The original design featured a larger plaza and more landscaping as well as plans to replace the ponds with new ones but Bicknese estimated the cost could approach $140 thousand. The established budget during this time remains $75,000.
http://40southnews.com/maplewood-to-bid-two-veterans-memorials/

July 2016 – The architect comes back to the city council with a plan very similar to the original and estimates the cost to be $140,000. http://40southnews.com/maplewood-veterans-memorial-to-go-to-bid/#comment-55581