FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2009
Contact:
Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission: Jessica Fagan – 614.995.7552; jfagan@culture.ohio.gov
City of Westerville: Carrie Foor – 614.901.6518; carrie.foor@westerville.org
Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission Approves $125,000 for Westerville Firefighters' Memorial & First Responders' Park
Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission approved $125,000 at its quarterly meeting today for the Westerville Firefighters’ Memorial & First Responders’ Park.
The City of Westerville will create the park, which will feature a landscaped plaza with walkways, seating, sculptures, and interpretive panels memorializing the contributions of the area’s firefighters and police. The park’s first sculpture will be a piece of steel obtained from the site of the World Trade Center, and will serve as a memorial to the first responders on September 11, 2001. The memorial will be completed before 2010—the 150th anniversary of the Westerville Fire Department.
The Commission approval, coupled with the signing of legal agreements, allows the City of Westerville to be reimbursed on a pro rata basis with funds appropriated in Am. Sub. H.B. 562 of the 127th General Assembly. Franklin County General Assembly members who voted in favor of the bill include Senators David Goodman, Jim Hughes and Ray Miller; Representatives Kevin Bacon, Ted Celeste, Tracy Maxwell Heard and Dan Stewart; former Senator Steve Stivers; and former Representatives Joyce Beatty, Larry Flowers, Jim McGregor and Larry Wolpert.
The Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission is a state agency that helps enhance the quality of life for Ohioans by improving the state’s cultural facilities. Since 1988, the Commission has disbursed more than $400 million in capital funds appropriated by the Legislature and Governor for facility improvement projects at nonprofit theaters, museums, historical sites and publicly owned professional sports venues. The Commission partners with nonprofit groups and local governments on more than 300 projects in 72 of Ohio’s 88 counties. For more information on the Commission, visit www.culture.ohio.gov.
