Simsbury Veterans Memorial Effort Moves Forward

Monday night, the Board of Selectmen endorsed the idea of a streetscape Veterans Memorial on the Simsbury Public Library campus. 

The effort, being led by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1926 and American Legion Post 84, would involve a walkable tribute to members of six branches of the military, particularly those residents who made the ultimate sacrifice. 

"We’re looking at honoring those residents of Simsbury who died — from the Revoultionary War on," said Terri Hahn, a land planner for Landscape Architectural Design Associates in Simsbury, which is helping the organizations with the effort. 

The effort has been in the works for some time now and a few sites were considered but the groups have settled on an area on the library property along Route 10. 

The streetscape design would honor each branch in a way in which people could walk through and read the names of those who died. The organizations would raise funds for the effort, have it built and gift it to the town. Cost estimates are still being finalized. 

The plan is to host a groundbreaking ceremony by Memorial Day 2014. 

"We’re looking at it as being an instrumental art of the streetscape," Hahn said. 

On Wednesday, she also unveiled a concept drawing but cautioned that it was preliminary since input and approval is still needed by the town's land-use boards. 

A drawing was previously shown to the Library board of trustees. 

Selectmen said they loved the idea of the memorial, its visibility and thanked Leonard G. Lanza, who was in attendance, for his work on this effort and the town's Memorial Day activities. 

"I think it's a wonderful tribute," selectman Lisa Heavner said of the proposed memorial.