This April 2002 photo shows the Civil War statue after it was put back in place in Marion’s City Square Park after being restored by a Kalona company. The zinc statue of a Union soldier, which dates to 1914, was damaged in the August 2020 derecho and likely will be restored again. (Gazette archives)
MARION — The Marion City Council is looking to repair the Civil War statue damaged in the August 2020 derecho.
The statue of a soldier, in Marion’s City Square Park, will be sent to Mississippi for a cost estimate and possible repairs, which would include reattaching that statute’s head.
The City Council unanimously on Thursday directed staff to obtain an exact quote for the repair.
The monument of a Union soldier, donated by the Iowa Women’s Relief Corps, was dedicated in 1914. It was part of a mass production of Civil War statues at the turn of the century and doesn’t represent any one soldier.
Many people, including council member Steve Jensen, have thought the statue depicts Francis Marion, a Revolutionary War veteran known as the “Swamp Fox” and the city’s namesake.
“I walked past it hundreds of times and always thought it was Francis Marion until I actually read what was on it,” Jensen said. “I’m in full support of it being in the park. I think a lot of people still assume it is Francis Marion.”
Steve Jensen, Marion City Council
The effort to find a place where the statue can be repaired turned into quite a search for the city’s Parks and Recreation department, which put together a small working group to find the right repair shop in the United States.
“We reached out to a foundry we worked with in the past. Talking to them, they didn’t think it could be repaired, and the cost to replace it was about $42,000, which, at the time, insurance didn’t want to cover,” Parks and Recreation Director Seth Staashelm said.
Seth Staashelm, Marion parks and recreation director (The Gazette)
The search committee then found John Ward of Masterworks Studio in Mississippi. Ward specializes in zinc repair and restoration.
“In my conversation with John, we spoke about the process, and he has considerable experience repairing zinc statues,” Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Brent Neighbor said. “This being a porous material, it can be a very tedious process.”
Neighbor said Ward, without seeing the statue himself, estimated the repair would cost between $10,000 and $15,000. To get an exact quote, the city has to transport the statue to Mississippi.
“Insurance said they would cover up to $12,000. We will likely send the full thing because our feeling is they should pay for the repairs,” Neighbor said.
UTVs on streets
The council also discussed looking at changing the city’s utility terrain vehicle ordinance, which currently bans the use of UTVs from city streets, except in emergencies.
UTVs, like Polaris and Can-Am, are allowed on county secondary roads.
“We had some folks approach us about changing the ordinance,” police Chief Mike Kitsmiller said. “I pulled other ordinances up, and a couple of things jumped out at me. Most of the cities I have found that allow them are smaller in population and are a little more rural.”
Kitsmiller said that in other cities, operators of UTVs on city streets had to be 18 years old.
“You obviously want them to have a driver’s license,” the chief said. “You may want daylight hour rules as well and the biggest one for us: no riding on parks, trails, easements and sidewalks.
“We’ve never ticketed anyone for plowing snow off sidewalks with them, but I don’t want someone going down the sidewalk doing 35 mph.”
Mike Kitsmiller, Marion police chief
Most of the city council members said they didn’t have a strong opinion on the issue at the moment.
“I can’t formulate an opinion at this point. I want to investigate and be able to give additional input. I think we need more information,” council member Grant Harper said.
“I do think there’s a difference with a small town and the city of Marion,” council member Jensen said. “I also see an uphill battle with adding this. … I’m not 100 percent against it. I’m leaning no but willing to listen more.”
Comments: (319) 398-8255; gage.miskimen@thegazette.com
https://www.thegazette.com/local-government/marion-looking-at-repair-of-civil-war-statue/
2022-02-04 20:50:36Z
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