The Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial Commission (SHPMC) met, with the majority of its members in attendance, on the evening of Thursday, October 10, in the Municipal Center’s Council Chambers.

SHPMC Chairman Dan Krauss kicked off the meeting by announcing that First Selectman Dan Rosenthal had joined them to give “an update on what he has been doing as far as different funding options that we might have.”

Mr Rosenthal said that he has been conversing with SWA, the selected design firm for the permanent memorial, and their recommended fundraising firms.

The first firm, he explained, sounded promising on the first call but then requested a potential donor list, which they do not have.

“Not to be deterred, SWA did refer me to another firm,” Mr Rosenthal said.

However, that firm required a fee for its services.

“While I was hopeful, I just don’t see a pathway there,” he elaborated. “I thought there may be an opportunity there, but it’s not a guarantee and [there is] the cost — we are talking $30,000 a month to go down that path.”

Resources are precious for the commission, and he does not want to use their resources that way.

With that in mind, Mr Rosenthal said the SHPMC should look more seriously to the three budgeted options presented by SWA.

“I do think we need to move forward on something,” he stated.

Former first selectman and current SHPMC member Pat Llodra responded, saying, “I think finding a pathway forward is difficult but important, and I’m hoping we are able to do that tonight.”

SHPMC vice chairman Alan Martin agreed that he does not believe they should delay the project any longer.

Modifications

Commission members weighed in on their concerns over the three previously submitted designs that catered to a reduced budget.

SHPMC member JoAnn Bacon, mother of Charlotte Bacon who died on 12/14, spoke up and said, “I’m really disappointed. I can’t not be emotional. This is very personal. For me, option three is not an option. It is missing so much of what we loved with the original design. I don’t think that’s the starting point.”

Some members voiced that they saw more potential in option two over the others, but there was no clear consensus to be able to select any of the three particular designs as they were submitted.

Mr Rosenthal said they can explore modifications to a budgeted design with SWA, but they cannot deny their “fiscal reality.”

“I think that I’m the bearer of bad news,” he said.

He relayed that the design the commission originally selected and recommended to the Board of Selection, which passed unanimously, the town cannot pay for.

It comes in at an estimated cost of $10 million, and Mr Rosenthal cites that he feels he would not be able to get support to move forward with it through the other town processes or the public vote.

He emphasized that the commission needs to be united with their decision of a design before presenting the modified project plan to the public and getting it voted on in a referendum.

At this point, with no decision in sight, he explained, they would not be ready for an April referendum vote.

While talking about a monetary amount, Ms Llodra said, “My thinking is that if we are going to move forward, we need to settle in on what we think is a reasonable ask from the Board of Selectmen and have Dan [Rosenthal] carry that forward.”

SHPMC member Donna Van Waalwijk asked Mr Rosenthal, in his opinion, if the financial cap should be $4 million, to which he replied, yes, but that they do not need to pick a budget tonight.

The commission then brainstormed specific elements they would want SWA to incorporate in a new budgeted design.

Features included having some sort of a water element (for example, if a bridge over the ponds is not affordable, they would be interested in having a dock instead); ensuring the quality of the pond water is addressed; having a lookout point; incorporating a quote from President Barack Obama somewhere; having the ability to have candles floating in the water by the sycamore tree and to have the water be circulated; and to have multiple pathways throughout the site.

“I’ll assume everything else can go or be modified.” Mr Rosenthal said, adding that he feels he has enough to go with, to bring to SWA.

The next Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial Commission meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 14, at 7 pm, in the Municipal Center’s Council Chambers. To contact the commission, e-mail sandyhookpermanentmemorial@gmail.com.