Donors Upset About Removal of Downtown Memorial Benches

Benches are being replaced throughout downtown , but some residents aren’t taking it sitting down.

Relatives of those honored with plaques on the city’s old, wooden benches are upset those plaques are missing from the new, metal replacements.

“This was grandpa’s bench and for years our family took a lot of pride in being able to come downtown and sit there,” Northville resident Connie Conder said.

The original benches were installed in 1978 and are gradually being replaced due to wear and tear.

“After 33 years, they’ve become pretty worn,” City Manager Patrick Sullivan said.

The city has placed the old benches and plaques in storage, Sullivan said, and their fate hasn’t been decided. 

“The benches could be made available to the families,” said Downtown Development Director Lori Ward. 

Benches could also be placed in city parks, Ward said, or given to a group such as the fire department’s Young Explorers program to sell as a fund-raiser. Honorees names will likely be incorporated in some new city honor, she added, such as a large downtown plaque.

“We’re still in the discussion stage on this, “Ward said.

Plaques have been removed, Ward said, because the donations were made to help purchase the old benches, not the new $1,750-per-bench replacements.

“Those donations were made for the benches that are being replaced,” she said. “Some of the old benches also had a cutout space for the plaques and the new ones don’t have them.”

Northville resident Kathleen Kaiser said her family made an estimated $800 donation to honor her parents on their 40^th wedding anniversary. She said she wouldn’t mind having the bench - which once stood outside , a popular downtown restaurant  - but believes the plaques should be placed somewhere on the new benches.

“You make a donation to the city thinking it’s going to be for something that lasts,” Kaiser said. “Then, after 10 years or so, the city can tell you they don’t want it anymore. It doesn’t seem right.”

Conder’s said her family donated $550 to the city to honor her father-in-law, the late John Conder Sr. He was ultimately honored on two benches, Conder said, one on Center Street the other on Main Street.

Uncertainty over the benches and plaques has been stressful, both women said.

“We really haven’t gotten any information on this,” Kaiser said.

Added Conder: “I love Northville. I don’t want to get a lawyer. I just want to know what’s going on.”

Ward said the city and DDA are compiling names of donors to contact them about plans for the benches and plaques. The DDA and city are implementing a new downtown streetscape plan to update everything from the benches, to trees to trash receptacles. 

Work is ongoing with up to a dozen replacement benches to be added this summer, Ward said.