Acton Veterans Memorial One Step Closer to Town Common

Monday night, the Acton Board of Selectmen unanimously voted in favor of the proposed Veterans Memorial to be placed in the Town Common on November 11, 2011. John Murray, Acton’s assistant to the Town Manager, was at the meeting to explain the particulars of the proposed project.

On October 4^th, . The memorial is being proposed to be placed where the Spanish-American War memorial is currently located in the Town Common and the Spanish-American War memorial is being proposed to be relocated on the plot of land in between the Town Hall and the Memorial Library.

During the portion of the Selectmen meeting when the public was asked for their input on the project, Leonard Palmer of Acton, explained that he was not in favor of the proposed wording that will go on the memorial.

“Too many cooks are spoiling the stew,” said Palmer. “I think it is terrible to do something as important as this and rush it. If the wording is not perfect I don’t think we should rush it.”

Board Chair, Mike Gowing, explained that their was a meeting held earlier in the month where several local Veterans voted on the proposed wording. Acton resident, Herman Kabakoff, also spoke during the public input and was pleased with the way the project has been handled thus far.

“The fact of the matter is that this has been done democratically and has been done with the utmost care for everyone’s opinion and it’s time to move on,” said Kabakoff. “I for one am just delighted with the wording and I hope that the Board of Selectmen unanimously support this monument and I am looking forward to a vast crowd at the dedication to honor the people who have served, who are serving and quite frankly, the people who will serve.”

The Historic District Commission (HDC) still has to approve the project before anything is set in stone. The HDC will vote on Tuesday, October 25, at 8 p.m. in Room 126 of the Acton Town Hall.