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Veterans tribute planned in Eau Claire

Leader-Telegram - 4/11/2017

April 11--Advocates for a veterans tribute in Eau Claire wanted a location where people could easily visit monuments and learn stories of area residents who fought in wars.

"We didn't want to put this on the northern tip of Eau Claire County," said Adam Kohls, the county's assistant veterans services director. "We wanted something rather central where a lot of people come through it."

After consulting with the city, county and landowners, a half-dozen sites were proposed but one clearly stood out. Not only does the city own a swath of riverfront land along Forest Street, but it had even planned to build a recreational trail connecting Phoenix Park to the High Bridge on it.

"This one was the aha moment," said Mark Beckfield, an Eau Claire County supervisor and member of the veterans tribute committee.

In coming weeks, he and others who have been working on the project will seek approval from the county and city to bring the veterans tribute closer to reality.

Volunteers who have been quietly planning the veterans tribute are proposing a 12-foot-wide, quarter-mile-long paved trail with monuments beside it that honor branches of the military and tell the history of wars and local veterans who served.

"The coolest feature is the educational feature of this," Beckfield said.

The veterans tribute would also use QR codes and GPS features that work with smartphones so visitors can get additional online information about local veterans featured in the monuments. And one of the prominent stories will be about the bald eagle that local soldiers brought into battle during the Civil War.

"The story of Old Abe alone is one a lot of our students should know about," Beckfield said.

The volunteer group has been working on designs as well as getting estimates for paving, stone monuments and a bathroom. As it stands now, the group is expecting the veterans tribute will cost about $2 million.

The county's Administration Committee will consider a resolution Wednesday to support the veterans tribute efforts, which will then go onto the County Board for a final vote.

"By them supporting it, that allows our office to work with this foundation," Kohls said of the resolution.

The city is drafting a memo of understanding with the veterans group, which spells out each of their responsibilities when it comes to building and maintaining the veterans tribute.

"We're close to having that completed," city community services director Jeff Pippenger said.

That document is scheduled to face an April 26 vote at the city's Waterways and Parks Commission before seeking City Council approval on May 9.

The Forest Street area is considered a "greenway" -- an open area similar to a park -- and is limited in what can be built there because it's in a floodplain.

Aside from a gardening shelter built specifically for the site, the only other structures in the area are an Xcel Energy electrical substation and an old city storage garage.

The city bought several houses years ago that used to stand on the site and suffered from flooding. A badly deteriorated road remains there -- North River Street -- that would be replaced by the veterans tribute.

The only use for Forest Street in recent years has been a community garden area where city residents can rent plots.

"The gardens are still going to be there," Kohls said.

Beckfield said the veterans group will seek the advice of the gardeners for landscaping planned around the tribute. The lighting planned with the veterans tribute and additional visitors it will bring also will improve safety and security to the area, he added.

The idea for the tribute started at the county's veterans service office, which delegated it to the volunteer committee that has been working on the project for two years.

That group registered Eau Claire County Veterans Tribute Foundation as a nonprofit organization last month, which allows it to start fundraising efforts.

Beckfield said people already are starting to contribute to the cause.

"There's some coming at us already," he said.

Contact: 715-833-9204, andrew.dowd@ecpc.com, @ADowd_LT on Twitter

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(c)2017 the Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wis.)

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