The City of Crown Point and the Friends of the Veterans Memorial Parkway inked a historic memorandum of understanding during Wednesday’s Board of Works and Public Safety meeting.
The agreement provides the Friends of the Veterans Memorial Parkway a 99-year lease to utilize a new site at Sauerman Woods Park to install a World Wars I & II and Holocaust Memorial.
Crown Point Mayor David Uran said the agreement will allow the City to maintain its long-standing partnership with the Friends while breathing new life into Sauerman Woods Park.
“Relocating the memorial to Sauerman Woods allows the community to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice all year, not just on select holidays,” Uran said. “This memorial is years in the making, and we look forward to seeing the final product that will pay homage to Lake County veterans, like my grandfather, who answered the call to fight for freedom.”
Mitch Barloga, president of the organization, said the memorial will honor the 1,200 fallen soldiers in Lake County who served during both World Wars.
While work at Sauerman Woods is underway this summer, Barloga said the Friends of the Veterans Memorial Parkway plan to update the design and schematics for the memorial. The project, he noted, will be done in phases.
“Keep in mind World War I and World War II are a continuous story. We want to tell that story and the story of the Lake County veterans who sacrificed their lives,” Barloga said. “We plan to work around the pond, installing memorials for both World Wars and the Holocaust. We also plan to have an installation at the end of the pond with the names of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. We hope to install that piece right away.”
Councilman and Board of Works Member Andrew Kyres said the project is a, “long time coming.”
“I am excited to see the end result,” Kyres said.
Former Crown Point Mayor Jim Metros said open communication between the City and the Friends led to the historic partnership.
“World War II touches us all — no matter what age we are,” Metros said, adding the memorial is, “an honorable thing to do.”
The City is slated to begin work at Sauerman Woods Park this summer.