Gurnee trustees get final say on memorial controversy
Four Gurnee trustees will be needed to stop Mayor Kristina Kovarik's veto of an agreement allowing a private foundation to continue its work to bring a memorial to Iraq and Afghanistan military personnel to the village.
Whether that will happen is unclear, as officials Wednesday said they'd need time to review the issue before making a decision.
In the latest twist in what's been a controversial project, Kovarik this week issued her veto, contending the foundation headed by Trustee Kirk Morris lacks cash and the technical expertise to finish Heroes of Freedom Memorial Park, planned for village-owned property on Old Grand Avenue.
Village trustees last month voted 5-0 in favor of the agreement to make Morris' private foundation the memorial's developer on public land. Morris recused himself from the process, while Kovarik would have voted to break a tie. Controversy over the memorial erupted in October after Kovarik questioned whether Morris' group was capable of finishing the project.
Village Attorney Bryan Winter said Wednesday that state law requires a veto override vote at a municipal government's next regular meeting. In Gurnee's case, that means the vote must occur Monday, Jan. 25.
Winter said Kovarik's veto would be negated if four of the six trustees vote to override it. While Morris plans to recuse himself from voting, Winter said the number of trustees needed for a veto override remains at four.
Morris again defended his foundation's work on the memorial for nearly the past five years. He was not a village trustee when officials asked him to lead the memorial effort in 2005 without a written agreement. He said licensed architects and engineers have donated their services to the Pfc. Geoffrey Morris Memorial Foundation. Morris' Marine son died in Iraq in 2004.
Morris said he won't lobby his village board colleagues before the Jan. 25 meeting.
"They have to vote their conscience," Morris said Wednesday, "and that's what I expect them to do."
Trustees Hank Schwarz, Michael Jacobs, Cheryl Ross, Greg Garner and Jeanne Balmes said they plan to examine documents and other information cited by the mayor in her veto before deciding whether to overturn her maneuver.
Though they unanimously voted to enter a formal agreement with Morris, not all have been in favor of the memorial.
"I have not been enamored with the project from the get-go," said Balmes.
So far, Heroes of Freedom has nine flag poles representing every military branch, and lights. A walkway, benches, a garden and bronze sculptures projected to cost $250,000 have yet to be built.
Kovarik said she still wants a memorial on the former police headquarters site, just on a scale smaller than the one envisioned by Morris.
But she said the village can't afford to pay for the walkway and benches this year as called for in the agreement, and cast doubt about covering future maintenance costs. Kovarik also said the $250,000 for the statues is too much for the foundation to raise before the Dec. 31, 2014, completion date listed in the deal.
"Mr. Morris will rally his supporters who will call us un-American," Kovarik said in a statement to trustees Monday night. "I would remind you that your duty is to do the right thing for the residents of Gurnee - and it is very American to serve as an elected official."
Garner questioned why the mayor allowed village staffers to include language in the deal committing an unspecified amount of public money to the sidewalks and benches, but cited the potential spending in her veto. He said Kovarik's move was political.
"She wants to take out Kirk Morris," Garner said. "It's personal."
Internal Revenue Service documents show total money raised by Morris' foundation was $202,700 from tax years 2005 to 2007, the most recent available. Total expenses over the three years were $247,638, leaving the group $44,938 in the red.
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