GWINNETT COUNTY

Department ofHuman Services

1 Office of the Director
(404)822-8880

MEMORANDUM

Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners

FROM; Mike Huff, Director, Human Services

DATE: PebruarY 24, 1992

Last fall, we received a request to place a monument on the

Historic Courthouse groxmds. At that point, we fovmd .that there
was not existing policy to govern such a request. It was requested
that a policy be developed prior to presenting a recommendation to
the Board of Commissioners. With that request, staff approached
the Historic Courthouse Advisory Committee. That committee worked
throughout the restoration and facility use planning process to
develop recommendations for Board consideration. Due to that
previous effort, that group seemed to be the most appropriate
resource to develop a recommended policy.

The committee, as approved by the Board, included representatives

from the Historic Restoration Preservation Board, Historical
Society, Arts Council, Convention and Visitors Bureau, City of
Lawrenceville, and staff of Administrative Services and Human
Services.

Attached, you will find a recommended policy upon which to

determine whether to allow placement of a monument on the grotmds.
If that answer is positive, the policy then specifies placement,
size, material, etc.

This proposal is presented for your consideration. Thank you for

your consideration of this important issue.

eg\up51\boc.hciaonunent

75LANGLEYDRIVE •LAWRENCEVILLE,GEORGIA 30245-6900

 GWINNETT COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA REQUEST

* DEPARTMENT: HUMAN SERVICES WORK SESSION AGENDA #: 4

£'
* DEPT. HEAD AUTHORIZATION; MIKE HUFF CONSENT AGENDA #.

* DATE SUBMITTED: 2/24/92 NEW BUSINESS #^

* WORK SESSION DATE: 3/17/92 OLD BUSINESS

BUSINESS SESSION DATE: 3/17/92

TABLED TO:

SUBMITTING PERSON: MIKE HUFF

CITIZENS REQUEST; DATE SUBMITTED DEPT..

SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS AND UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY

II. *ITEM OF BUSINESS: BOARD APPROVAL OF ACCEPTANCE OF AND

PLACEMENT ON THE HISTORIC COURTHOUSE GROUNDS
OF A MEMORIAL TO THE CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS
FROM GWINNETT COUNTY, PER RECOMMENDATION OF
HISTORIC COURTHOUSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

AUTHORIZATION CHAIRMAN'S SIGNATURE: YES NO

III. FINANCIAL ACTION REQUESTED: (FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES USE ONLY).

IV. * STAFF RECOMMENDATION:.

V. * ATTACHMENTS:LETTER REQUESTING PERMISSION, LETTER OP RECOMMENDATION

FROM GWINNETT HISTORICAL SOCIETY, LETTER DETAILING PROCESS UTILIZED TO
DEVELOP RECOMMENDATION

VI. * FINANCIAL INFORMATION: (FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES USE ONLY)

BUDGETED FUND NAME CURRENT BALANCE REQUESTED DIRECTOR

ALLOCATION INITIALS.

YES NO m-
YES NO

COMMENTS;

VII. * ATTORNEY COMMENTS:

AGENDA APPRVD AS TO FQ

APPRVD FOR AGENDA PURPOSES ONLY

p. ^ OTHER COMMENTS AND NARRATIVE ATTACHED

*■ MUSTrBE COMPLETED BEFORE SUBM^SSJCQIT
FOR NON-ESSENTIAL ITEMS '""inziTO CjSg^. N/A IS APPROPRIATE

^ wfaR - 4
MAR-619®
;/ .^12,
 2340 31
'i Q ci 2

1 MS. UNTERMAN: No. I didn't make a motion.

2 I'll second it, though.

3 MS. WEBB: We have a motion by Commissioner

4 McGill, seconded by commissioner Unterman, to adopt

5 policy and procedures for monuments and memorials as

6 placement there at the historic courthouse and

7 grounds.

8 Is there discussion? Additional discussion?

9 All those in favor of adoption of this policy,

10 please let it be known by saying, "Aye."

11 MR. DODDj Aye.

12 MR. WILLIAMSON: Aye,

13 MS. WEBB: Aye.

14 MR. McGILL: Aye.

15 MS. UNTERMAN: Aye.

16 MS. WEBB: Opposed?

17 Ayes have it. So ordered.

18 And 2,B. —

19 MR. HUFF: Could I make one correction,

20 please? The Arts Council — Nancy Gullickson

21 represented the Downtown Development Authority as

22 opposed to the Arts Council. I wanted clarify that.

23 MS. WEBB: The correction will be so noted.

24 2.B. is the APPROVAL OF ACCEPTANCE OP AND

25 PLACEMENT ON THE HISTORIC COURTHOUSE GROUNDS A

 234i 32
J 3?

1 MEMORIAL TO THE CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS FROM GWINNETT

2 COUNTY, PER THE RECOMMENDATION OF HISTORIC

3 COURTHOUSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

4 MS. UNTERMAN: Do you have a picture?

5 MR. HUFF: Mr. Diggers is here, and I think he

6 could -- could discuss that, I'm not sure they are

7 finalized because they're waiting to see what

8 requirements you placed by this policy. So, once

9 * they get that, they can make their final plans. But
10 I think he can share with you their plans.

11 MS. WEBBj If he would share that with us

12 maybe on the overhead.

13 MR. DIGGERS: Okay.

14 MS. WEBB: If he's got a —

15 MR. DIGGERS: I don't have a diagram with me.

16 I didn't bring one. I had previously sent Mr. Huff

17 one, and but what we envision is just basically an

18 oblast within the guidelines that the county has

19 approved. We would prefer to have some easement of

20 those guidelines because I think the — that we are

21 restricted to six feet and we feel like that's

22 pretty short for just an oblast. But we will live

23 with whatever guidelines,

24 I guess the Washington Monument is a good

25 example, only much smaller. Something of that

 33

2342

1 nature,

2 MS. WEBB: Be a little out of place over

3 there, don't you think?

4 MR. BIGGBRS; Yeah. You're right. With just

5 a simple inscription honoring the soldiers from

6 Gwinnett County who fought for the confederacy. And
7 if you go back through history, you'll find that
8 more than 2,000 soldiers from this county did serve
9 the confederacy during that period, 1861 to 1865.
10 And Gwinnett County is one of the few counties in
11 Georgia and in the South for that matter that does
12 not have a monument honoring those people.

13 So, that's what we'd like to do. We feel like

14 this is about a hundred years too late. But we

15 would certainly like to go ahead and correct that

16 and so that our generations to follow us would know

17 that these folks were so honored.

18 MR. McGILL; Do you realize that Gwinnett

19 County voted not to secede from the Union through

20 delegates they sent down there?

21 MR. BIGGERSj Many counties did.

22 MR. McGILL: And I know (Inaudible) County and

23 I believe with other counties.

24 MR. BIGGERS: Newtoii County did, too. But

25 after that decision was made, they did fight.

 34
•^34o

1 MS. WEBB: And fought well, I might say.

2 MR. BIGGERS: Fought well. That's true. If I

3 could add --

4 MR. McGILL: The only thing I see, I see a

5 controversy building on this thing. I have some

6 real reservations about it. If it was going to be

7 done, it should have been done in the past. I mean,

8 if we're going to do this, we're going to have do

9 something else for another group.

10 MR. WILLIAMSON; Let me — let me relate

11 something to what Commissioner McGill said. I

12 didn't volunteer to go into the Army, but I did go.

13 And I'm still a veteran.

14 MS. WEBB: And you didn't secede from the

15 Union either.

16 MR. WILLIAMSON: That's right. So, I mean,

17 that doesn't have a bit of bearing on what we're

18 talking about.

19 MR. BIGGERS: Well, I think that this is

20 history. I mean, this —

21 MR. WILLIAMSON: Yes, it is.

22 MR. BIGGERS: happened. And —

23 MR. WILLIAMSON; I don't see where it matters

24 v/hether we put that 100 years ago or today. I think

25 it's it's something that we pay tribute to. It's

 -f. • '
2 4:'i 35

1 not a — It's not a fictional thing. It does exist#

2 and that war actually happened. And we honor the

3 people that fought it in whether it was right or

4 wrong.

5 MR. DODD: Well, I make a motion that 2.B. be

6 approved.

7 MR. WILLIAMSON; Second.

8 MS. WEBB; We have a motion by Commissioner

9 Dodd, seconded by Commissioner Williamson to approve

10 2.B.

11 I was just going to add something, maybe not

12 as a friendly amendment, Commissioner Dodd, but just

13 make a statement kind of. Rather than just

14 recognizing the men and women — men in the

t

15 confederate engagement or the war of aggression,

16 maybe that sounds better, maybe do one that says for

17 all men and women who have served in every

18 employment since the beginning of time almost and

19 even through the Persian Gulf.

20 I don't know. Maybe that's not appropriate

21 thinking of the year span I guess with the old

22 courthouse. Of course, it wasn't existing when the

23 Great War was on, was it? No.

24 MR. HUFF; No.

25 MS. WEBB; So, I don't know. I'm just

 234
<a Ci' g
36

1 thinking out loud.

2 So, we have a motion before us. We have a

3 motion before us. Is there any other discussion?

4 MS. UNTERMAN: The only other discussion I

5 have is, you know, I don't know how to say it

6 correctly, but there are different groups that could

7 be offended by it. And Mr. McGill does raise a

8 pertinent point.

9 MR. WILLIAMSON; Well, who are these groups?

10 MS. UNTERMAN: Well —

11 MR. McGILL; You want to go ahead and get

12 right blunt, the civil rights groupls.

13 MR. WILLIAMSON: All right. .1 —

14 MR. McGILL; I mean, I think if you're'going

15 to do one, you need to do both.

16 MR. WILLIAMSON: What do you mean do — we

17 haven't fought a war with —

IB MR. McGILL: Well, I think there's a group of

19 people that'll argue with you about how many have

20 died about civil rights.

21 MR. WILLIAMSON: Well, I don't — I don't mean

22 to say — but there hasn't been a declared war, has

23 there?

24 MR. McGILL: Well, that all depends on what

25 side of the bench you been sitting on.

 .V't
i) v
2343 37

1 MR. WILLIAMSON; Well, I've been sitting right

2 here in the same —

3 MR. DODD; Call the question. Call the

4 question.

5 MR. WILLIAMSON; You know, we already -- we

6 already made the motion.

7 MS. WEBB: The question's been called. Any

8 objection to moving the question?

9 Do you need a vote decide whether we're going
10 to move the question?

11 If not, all those in favor of the motion

12 before us, and the motion is to approve, let it be

13 knov/n by saying, "Aye."

14 MR. DODD; Aye.

15 MR. WILLIAMSON: Aye.

16 MS. WEBB: Aye.

17 MS. UNTERMAN: Aye.

IB MS. WEBB; Those opposed?

19 MR. McGILL: Opposed.

20 MS. WEBB: Ayes have it. So ordered.

21 MR. HUFF: For the policy that you just

22 approved, the specific wording and structure does

23 have to come back to you, so that you're aware of
24 it, more from an informational standpoint than

25 specific action. This will allow them to move

 i: 'U U -k' 2347 38

1 forward and raise funds for it the erection of that

2 monument.

3 MS. VifEBB: Thank you.

4 And now let's to have move to 2.C. The

5 request before us is the APPROVAL AND AUTHORIZATION

6 FOR THE CHAIRMAN TO EXECUTE SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT

7 #1 IN THE AMOUNT OF $69,335.00 TO CONTRACT OF

8 ELLIS-ANDERSON CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION FOR

9 ADDITIONS TO THE SCOPE OP WORK FOR PHASE ONE

10 CONSTRUCTION AT LENORA PARK, SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY

11 THE LAW DEPARTMENT.

12 MR. McGILL: I make a motion to approve.

13 MR. DODD: Second.

14 MR. WILLIAMSON; Second.

15 MS. WEBB: I have a motion to approve by

16 Commissioner McGill. Who the seconder?

17 MR. DODD; Doug. Doug.

18 X4S. WEBB: We had two that seconded,

19 Comm.lssioner McGill — Commissioner Dodd and

20 Commissioner Williamson.

21 Is there discussion on the motion before us?

22 It is to approve.

23. Hearing none, all those in favor, let it be

24 known by saying, "Aye."

25 MR. DODD: Aye.