Memorials to stay put in Towson’s Patriot Plaza
Tributes to police officers and firefighters will not be moved in redesign
Baltimore County officials say they will not relocate a memorial for police officers killed in the line of duty that stands outside the Historic Courthouse in Towson, nixing an earlier proposal made as part of a redesign of Patriot Plaza.
Last year the county announced plans to redesign Patriot Plaza, a public area between the Historic Courthouse and the Baltimore County Circuit Court building. The plaza is largely paved, and officials said they want to add green space to the area.
Cole Weston, president of the Baltimore County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 4, said he became concerned over the plaza redesign after seeing a proposal that called for moving the police memorial, which is located on a hill at the south side of the plaza, to what he considered a lessprominent location near heating and air conditioning units by the Historic Courthouse.
The memorial, a large granite structure in the shape of a county police badge, was dedicated in May 1996, according the FOP website.
In September, Weston sent a letter to County Executive Kevin Kamenetz expressing opposition to the move.
County spokeswoman Ellen Kobler said this week the police memorial, as well as a nearby memorial for firefighting personnel, “will remain exactly where they are presently located.”
In an email, she said officials have asked the project’s designer to submit “alternate design proposals.”
Weston said union members will be pleased with the decision.
County officials do not have a timeline for the project’s completion, Kobler said.
The plaza has had problems for years, mainly from a fountain that had to be turned off after it leaked into offices under the courtyard. A major part of the $4.25 million renovation will be removing the fountain and fixing the problems it caused.