City footing 60-67% of Hummert memorial cost, continues to fund raise

A couple more comments on the memorial:

There is a grammatical error sandblasted into the “Fireman’s Prayer” on one side of the pedestal where the Hummert statue will stand. “It’s” is used instead of its.

What’s more, the workmanship is a bit alarming. The stones are not joined properly – lots of gaps and cracks that have not been sealed.

Perhaps this will be done at a later date. I certainly hope so. As previously mentioned, I think the memorial is too big and in the wrong place. But it’s here to stay, so let’s at least try to get it right.

Although I didn’t know Ryan, I have the greatest respect for him, and wonder whether he would have even wanted this. Seems like a donation towards improved mental health treatment would have been more appropriate.

In addition to the very obvious issues about how this memorial was speed-tracked through and how the story of its funding changed over time, there remains the question of how it is decided who ‘deserves’ a memorial.

One post above characterizes Mr. Hummert as one of “your finest fire/ems professionals”, when in fact he was two weeks on the job and this was his first call; that kind of claim actually insults other EMS and fire professionals. Several people have mentioned his “sacrifice”. I believe the term ‘sacrifice’ refers to something done or given consciously and deliberately. In the case of the murder of Mr. Hummert, no one yet knew that there was a shooter in the house; no one had yet knowingly or deliberately put himself or herself in harm’s way up to that time. Yes, as I’m sure some will point out in full hyperbolic fashion, all fire fighters put themselves at risk in the course of their jobs, but that only underscores that a memorial to such a random event seems odd. With all due respect, Mr. Hummert didn’t do anything extraordinary that day. Would there have been a dramatic and unprecedented push to erect a similar monstrosity if a neighbor – a regular citizen – had been shot while getting out or his or her car nearby?

What about all the other people in Maplewood who have done something that could be described by general standards as ‘heroic’ (e.g. serving with honor in the military; saving lives as and EMS professional; truly and knowingly risking their own lives as firefighters and police)? I suspect that Maplewood could boast of many, many more people among its citizenry whose lives and actions would be similarly deserving of such a public honor. But, we only have one former Mayor who apparently retains the political clout to get public funding for an over-blown personal project – erected on public land.

I recall reading somewhere that this memorial had been re-purposed as a memorial to all fire fighters of Maplewood, but now it’s clear from all the poorly composed and over-written text monument that this gouge in the park is for one person who just happened to be the son of a former Maplewood mayor. This kind of old-school, back-room, under-the-table dealing is an embarrassment to Maplewood; the council members and everyone else who allowed, proposed, supported and worked the little political machine to get it done should be held in the full light of public scrutiny. There is a growing list of posts above that indicate that the city and its officials don’t want to respond to questions that are emerging, and that in itself suggests a greater need to investigate the processes that underlie this memorial.

Whether one supports or disapproves of this memorial, or has an opinion somewhere in between, it seems reasonable to expect that everyone would prefer a more transparent process with accountability beforehand, rather than allowing only for post hoc criticism.

I suspect that the city officials who drove or supported this thing will be less and less inclined to stand proudly behind their actions and decisions.

An appropriately somber memorial to Mr. Hummert, if it was so strongly desired to add something to the fact that the park had already been named for him, could have been constructed in the northwest corner of the park, which is better suited for quiet reflection. Again, the old-school, self-aggrandizing (after all, isn’t this really more about the former Mayor’s wishes?) approach to this melodramatic slab is more of an embarrassment in its brute and impersonal style. I look forward to the day when more forward-thinking and rational city officials decide to cut ties with the past way of doing things, and eventually remove what will soon become a graffiti-covered blight.

The bigger issue at hand is the process to approve public art or public memorials needs improvement. Whether we are talking about this memorial, a veterans memorial, the BIG M, or any other proposed art, there will always be people who disagree with the design (and apparently make melodramatic statements). However, this should not deter MW from considering use of public money for memorials or art. Not every proposed project needs to be done, but the city council members, as elected representatives of the citizens, should continue to have the authority to vote on adding funding for a memorial or artistic project to the budget.

That being said, the first step after coming up with the goal or purpose of the project is setting a budget. Private funds can be raised after the city has agreed upon what it is willing to spend. This memorial is a great example where the city approved the money with the expectation that most would be covered from private donors and made multiple comments suggesting a small undisclosed amount would be from the citizens. In reality it turned out to be much more.

Secondly, since citizens are paying for the art or memorial, then citizens should have a say in the design. The current method of the city council taking creative control and making multiple changes to a single idea has shown to be ineffective. A design contest needs to be held and artists would state their price along with renderings. Citizens could then vote online or at city hall to narrow down the choices to some amount (probably top 2 or 3). At that point, the city council could make the final decision on which one to go with. It is important designers include the price in the proposal because it potentially allows a project to come in under budget and be a deciding factor if two designs are close. This allows the professionals to make the design and the people to have a say.

This isn’t a perfect solution and may need some adjustment, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.

I have no problem with a memorial. I have no problem with money being spent on it. I have a huge problem with the design. Ugly and overdone.

Let’s meet. How about tomorrow at noon at the Stone Spiral. Beth, GGerald, and everybody else who might be interested if you are free. We can talk about the memorial, or hopefully something else over coffee. I’ll be there.

Ryan deserves a monument, but not this garish, ill-conceived, and poorly designed spectacle. What a waste.

I live right across the street from the tragedy and was home all day on that July day. A very mentally ill person killed a young man, who was doing his duty. Ryan’s family and friends are, of course, devastated and will never recover. As a mother, I would want to honor my child in any way possible. I think a much more fitting and lasting memorial would be to use that money to set up a trust for a scholarship of some kind.
AND, I totally agree that the residents of Maplewood should have been consulted and some sort of discussion should have taken place.

I would of been nice to have a fountain or water feature that the children of our community could of used. Unfortunately, the planning for this memorial was already set. What did the Maplewood Park Board think? I would be nice to know what they recommended.

One of the strangest signs of a strong and economically developing community is overpriced memorials or garish works of art. (Reference the “Stout Man” statue on Wydown road in Clayton.) So apart from everything else, welcome this as another milestone on Maplewood’s road to greatness. I fully expect houses around park have already begun to appreciate in value.

…only half joking here.

“I paid for it with my taxes”. Everything a certain commenter on this topic posts is complaining about the tax money- but your not disrespectful, right? Let’s face it- you’ve never been to a City Council Meeting and you probably never will. You’re comfortable as a spectator, eager to point fingers at the people actually performing public service, you know, people making decisions and leading our community. There is a public forum EVERY SINGLE MEETING that you can voice your concerns, annoyances, and express your detective-like theories about city finances. Regardless of how uninformed and/or unintelligent we are, they have to listen. It really isn’t a surprise that your upset, and complaining “I paid for it with my taxes” about dollars spent to honor someone who lost his life serving us, you, me, our community. You’re a freaking joke.

Generally speaking, I don’t intend for my comments to be taken personally. I have a hard time understanding when our community stopped caring about this tragedy. The initial out pour of support was tremendous- did we all just forget the darkness and sadness? I guess some more than others. Does anyone really think we’d get an entire community to agree on what a monument should look like, the size, etc.? Can we let this grief stricken family and/or fellow firefighters have what they think is appropriate?
It REALLY isn’t too much to ask.

If you have forgotten, maybe this will jog a feeling…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4v9eUfW9p0

As a 20 year veteran of an EMS entity, I came to know Ryan Hummert, who also worked for us, as a fine upstanding young man and paramedic. As I now sit here retired reading the above e mail thread, it took me back to that fateful day when Ryan was shot. Ryan died serving your community, but I am, to say the very least, appalled at the majority of comments on this e mail thread. “What a waste of space!” “A generation from now, no one will remember!” “It’s good to honor the dead, but I think the sensitivities of the living should also have been considered.” Good God people…this is a “memorial” to one of your finest fire/ems professionals and all you can do is show your disdain rather than your respect! Instead of sullying his memory, think of Ryan, his family, his public safety co-workers and friends. You should turn off the negative rhetoric and turn on the positive by helping to raise money for this well deserved tribute!. My check is in the mail. How about yours?

When things get way off track, it is seldom if ever due to the plan being too simple.
I saw many memorials and tombs last year . . . Churchill, Lincoln, Gandhi, Mandela and the other statesmen memorialized in Parliament Square combined don’t have as much verbiage as this memorial does, nor do the eight statues there take up much more room. Shakespeare has but four lines on his tomb.
Who he was and why he was important would have sufficed . . . as with introductions, movies and literature, good ones leave room for participation; bad ones try to answer every possible question.
There seems to be a broad feeling that the Hummert Memorial is not a plus for Hummert Park. Moreover, I feel that, as citizens we come together and agree to be taxed for certain purposes. This seems to go far beyond what taxpayers agreed to.

Wow, I love hearing the comments. I thought I was the only one who felt this way. I believe it’s too late for much change but I can’t think there is a tough lesson to be learned here. Honoring fallen heros or remembering events of the past should be community decisions with extreme transparency. Am I remembering this correctly, that the city financing for this project came from a budget surplus last year?

Wbat a waste of open space in the park. A nice plaque would have been adequate. A generation from now no one will remember, but that huge concrete structure will be there. And only a handful of people really wanted this project. Cut you losses and tear it down.

Were no adults in the room when this huge invasion to the park was proposed? And now we have to pay for it al$o?? It makes no sense to have such an inappropriate object in a play space for children and adults. I am particularly hurt about the project because I live halfway between the park and the atrocity (murder of Mr. Hummert, wounding of 2 policemen, arson of the perpetrator’s house and destruction of the adjacent house by that spread fire, perpetrator’s fiery truck launched into the front yard of the lady across the street). I hate being reminded of all that nastiness again and again no matter I walk east or west on Zephyr. It’s good to honor the dead. I think the sensitivities of the living should also have been considered.

At this point, I am concerned that this will make maps of attractions like “Biggest Ball of Twine” and “World’s Largest Wax Mustache” only, our distinction will be “World’s Largest ClusterF&*k.” It’s smack dab in the middle of a playground but kids can’t play on it, it’s an eyesore and it looks like it was designed by a hoarder. (How about adding some strobe lights so it’s 24/7? What about a water feature?)

I am stating this, not to be unkind, but because I’m hoping that someone in Maplewood City Hall will rethink this whole thing before it’s too late. People want to get up in arms about Prop Y, but why aren’t taxpayers screaming about this? We are talking $300,000! And it’s tacky.

Doug, shouldn’t the headline read “City is footing 60-67% of costs”?