The Benson Park Committee met on July 19 to hear an update on the relocation of the Firefighter’s Memorial in Benson Park. Selectman, David Morin, was at the meeting to give a presentation on how the long-planned project was progressing.
“There is a committee which includes the Fire Department, the Public Works, and the developer that is working on this,” Morin explained. “Right now, we’re kind of in a period where we have to wait 30 days because there is a chance that someone can challenge a decision by the Planning Board, so nothing will be taking place until the 30 days is over.”
The immediate plan was to get an architectural drawing of what it would look like when ready.
“If you go up to the 9/11 Memorial, right across from it there’s a grassy area, and that’s where the Firefighter’s Memorial will be placed,” said Morin. “The company Hudson Monument, which actually built the Memorial originally, will actually be the ones who will be relocating it.”
Public Works and the Hudson Fire Department will be in charge of overseeing the process. While there is no exact date, Morin hoped to start the relocation in August, having the Memorial in place “by wintertime.” Physically moving everything to Benson Park is expected to take a month or longer, as concrete needs to be broken at the old site before being repaired.
“The only thing that will be added is a tree, there’s a tree that stands behind the Memorial and that’s dedicated to the victims of 9/11,” said Morin. “The big tree that’s there now won’t be moved, because they were afraid it wouldn’t make it, so they’re going to purchase another tree to plant within the Memorial itself.”
The idea was to add as little as possible, with an emphasis on relocation only, not the construction of something new.
“Is there a cost to the town to move this?” asked Committee member, Gary Williams.
Morin confirmed there would be no cost to Hudson. The relocation was covered as part of the agreement approving the Central Gas development near the corner of Lowell Road and Central Street following concerns from town officials and members of the public that it would make a noisy memorial even noisier. There was also a property line issue that was resolved by relocation. The hope was that moving the Memorial to Benson Park would be easier for everyone.
“The Memorial is in a great spot where it is now, people get to see it, but the problem is, with all the noise there, when we have our firefighter’s ceremonies, we can’t hear anything,” said Morin.
Acting Chair, Judy Brouillette, was happy to see progress being made, adding that “this has been talked about for quite a while now.”
Morin promised to come back for another update at the next meeting.