The restoration of the Ridgeville cenotaph will face a delay.
The town will assemble “stakeholders” to discuss the method of the work following a presentation to town council Monday.
Carolyn Botari, representing a group of citizens, said the current plan is flawed.
It is disrespectful to the memory of 18 young men listed on the monument in front of Old Pelham Town Hall, she said.
The plan calls for removing the monument, taking off the lead lettering, sanding it down and engraving the names into the cenotaph.
The $33,000 project is partly financed by a $16,000 federal grant and a $5,000 donation from Royal Canadian Legion Branch 613 as well as by the town.
The monument, erected in 1920, contains names of men from Pelham Township who did not return from the First World War.
Botari said it is one of the oldest Canadian cenotaphs, erected the same year as tombs to the unknown soldier in London and Paris.
The use of hand-crafted lead lettering is significant, “a character defining element” of the cenotaph, she said. It was a special tribute to the fallen.
Following federal heritage guidelines, she said the lead letters should be “repaired rather than replaced” to conserve the site’s heritage value.
Of the letters on the monument only 10 are missing, 10 partially missing and three damaged, she said. She showed council photos of the condition.
“That is after 95 years of minimal maintenance by the community.”
Botari questioned if the Veterans Affairs department would continue to support the project if it understood the alterations that were planned.
She pointed out Brantford had restored a lead-lettered plaque to Joseph Brant and St. Catharines repaired the Port Dalhousie cenotaph with lead lettering.
The original plan was to restore the Ridgeville cenotaph in a way to make it would be maintenance free.
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 613 in a letter to council Monday said it supported the current plan, not a change.
“Our veterans are looking forward to paying tribute this year with the newly restored Cenotaph with the names clearly visible and permanent,” said branch president Rick Hatt in the letter.
While Kirkpatrick Stoneworks consulted on the project, treasurer Cari Pupo, in answer to a question from council, said, once it is finally approved by council, the restoration work would be put out for tenders.
Council Monday decided to delay the project for about a month to give the citizens’ group, legion members, town staff and possibly veterans’ affairs ministry time to meet.
Coun. Gary Accursi wondered if the delay would affect the grant.
Mayor Dave Augustyn did not expect it would.
Coun. Peter Papp, in supporting the discussion, said “we need to do it right.”
