BRUNSWICK

It’s time for Brunswick veterans to start raising some money.

Brunswick councilors gave the unanimous go-ahead Tuesday to move forward on plans for a veterans memorial plaza on the north end of the Town Mall that will incorporate an existing memorial there. The council also voted to allow veterans groups to move forward with fundraising efforts to pay for the construction.

The concept stemmed from a Brunswick American Legion proposal to install a Purple Heart Memorial on the Mall.

Councilor David Watson, who is a member of the Legion, introduced the resolution for the project, saying there are at least 30 Purple Heart recipients from the community. He said the Brunswick Downtown Association supports the memorial project along with the Mid Coast Veterans Council. No one has spoken against it.

Watson also emphasized this is a veterans memorial — not a war memorial.

“It’s to honor our veterans,” he said.

The project will cost approximately $160,000, including the cost of having the landscape architectural firm oversee construction, according to Tom Ferrill of the Brunswick Parks and Recreation Department.

Watson said he hopes to raise enough money to have some left for maintenance of the memorial.

“I am a veteran and I know what it means for veterans — veterans who are alive and veterans who are no longer with us,” Watson said. “I know what it means for the families. This provides a place for families, individuals, to meditate.”

The proposed project addresses a problematic area of the Mall where the existing memorial resides, Watson said, making it more inviting and clearing up safety issues. He noted that any time there is a program at the current memorial, people have to stand in the street, which has to be blocked.

Ferrill said the north-facing memorial will be turned around, so that it faces inward. That will keep people out of the way of traffic, and the location will be able to provide a staging area for other events on the Mall.

Margo Knight, chairwoman of the Master Plan Implementation Committee for the downtown and Pleasant Street area, spoke in favor of the project. Among more than 120 recommendations in the 2011 plan, she said, is improvement to the location and gathering potential for this particular memorial.

With the council approval the project will move to the final design stage. Richardson and Associations — which was lead consultant on the 2000 Mall management plan, and designed the Spanish War Memorial and Joshua Chamberlain monument — was contracted to help design the plaza.

Ferrill said town staff and veterans met and looked at three conceptual designs. The design chosen has granite pavers that radiate out from posts with plaques for different military conflicts.

There was concern about including too much foliage or low-growing trees and obscuring the memorial, exacerbating an existing issue there. Instead there are plans for four hardwood trees that will grow high and keep the view clear.

Joe Donahue, post commander for the Brunswick American Legion, said the memorial will give people a chance to stop there and have a moment of silence for family members who have served.

“I love the design myself,” he said, “but I think that will enhance the town of Brunswick, enhance our Mall and bring in some people who will really enjoy it.”

dmoore@timesrecord.com