The president of the Henderson Veterans Memorial Foundation board told the Henderson City Commission Tuesday there were discrepancies in the design of a planned Veterans Memorial Park included in the city’s Parks Master Plan and what he had discussed with city officials.
Tom Davis, former mayor of Henderson and now president of the Henderson Veterans Memorial Foundation board, said he wasn’t being adversarial but did point out pieces of the design in the master plan that made it “vastly different” in a design that is planned for the open field on Water Street across from the coming Rhythm River distillery.
The changes included the addition of a stage and a restroom underneath the CSX railroad bridge, he said. The design in the master plan also cleaned out an area that the Veterans Memorial Foundation had deemed a location to place monuments to Henderson medal of honor recipients and war monuments currently in Central Park that the foundation hopes to move to the new park, Davis said.
“It’s quite a bit different,” Davis said, adding the design in the Parks Master Plan diminishes what had been planned by the Veterans Memorial Foundation by about 50%.
City officials, though, said both the drawing in the Parks Master Plan and what the Veterans Memorial Foundation submitted previously are “concepts.”
“Ultimately, all of those are concepts,” said City Manager Dylan Ward.
What the city commission chooses to do with the space would have to be voted on.
“It’s wide open for what the veterans want,” Ward said.
Additionally, Mayor Brad Staton said that the commission is beginning to plan priorities for projects contained in the Parks Master Plan, a 118-page document that was created by firm Brandstetter Carroll with input from city residents and stakeholders. Although the commission recently gave approval to the document, the master plan is a working document of future projects and officials say that not all will be completed as presented in the parks master plan.
Staton said at the top of most city officials list is a new swimming pool, but he added that he believes the Veterans Memorial Park is high on lists, also. Staton said he would call Davis soon to set up a meeting to discuss the Veterans Memorial Park.
- Angie Gatten was awarded the monthly community spotlight for March, which is also Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Gatten was the wife of Henderson Police Department officer Janna Gatten, who died in 2023 from colon cancer. Angie Gatten urged people aged 45 and older to get a colon exam. She said if Janna Gatten had gone through one when she was 45, she believes Janna would still be alive and a cancer survivor. Angie Gatten works in the office of the Henderson County Commonwealth’s Attorney, where she is a victim’s advocate and discovery clerk.
- The deadline for a local nonprofit to apply for a grant from the city of Henderson or Henderson Fiscal Court is April 6. To apply for a program grant, click here; to apply for an event grant, click here.
- The city commission welcomed new city employees Donte Starks, Sanitation Worker, Public Works; Luke Cates, Communications Officer, Emergency Communications; and Rad Mattingly, Water Treatment Operator I, Henderson Water Utility.
