Trustees of War Memorial Meeting
Discussion of applying for or administering the Veterans' Heritage Grant Program, updates and needs for memorial maintenance including flagpoles and a potential tour, and consideration of pursuing Purple Heart City designation.
The Trustees discussed maintenance, funding, and designation work for city war memorials. Financial balances for the Trust Fund (Soldiers' Memorials) and the RESTOR fund were reported with no changes since the prior meeting. The group noted a $5,000 Veterans' Heritage Grant awarded on December 27, 2024 to refurbish the Rocky Hill Memorial flagpole (a $10,000 project with a $5,000 match); staff will issue a press release once paperwork is received from the Archivist of the Commonwealth, and Trustees Tom Champion and Paul Cote will continue to gather quotations and timelines. The administration also reported development of a Flagpole Stewardship Application to manage flag-raising responsibilities, and flagged that several poles and state-issued half-staff orders will be managed through that program.
Trustees discussed planning steps for pursuing a Purple Heart City designation: determining a date and location, drafting a proclamation, planning a ceremony, purchasing required Purple Heart signage, and researching local Purple Heart recipients. The Mayor will follow up with the American Legion Post Commander regarding transition of Legion funds. During public comment, the Veterans' Services Officer provided an update on adding John Picard to the Amesbury Servicemen Memorial Honor Roll at Justin Memorial and said a new vendor will be contacted to complete the addition in the coming weeks. The Trustees set their next meeting for March 25, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.