Project Update as of June 15, 2009
The cannons have arrived at Texas A & M. A public hearing on Cannon Square has been scheduled for Saturday, July 18th at 9 a.m. at Borough Hall. Also, currently it is anticipated that artist's renderings may be viewed at Borough Hall after July 6th.
Project Update as of June 3, 2009
The cannons are en route to Texas A & M.
Project Update as of May 18, 2009
The following motion carried: "That the overall elevation of Cannon Square will not change with the exception of minor modifications necessary for beautification." Another public meeting will be scheduled when supporting documents and visuals are ready from the landscape architect.
Project Update as of April 8, 2009
The landscaping plan is still under review and will be presented to Borough residents sometime later this year. All parts of the cannons are now in storage in Pawcatuck. Plans are now in progress for shipping the cannon tubes to Texas for restoration. The Borough has applied to the State of Connecticut for reimbursement of $20,000 for the project, and should receive the funds shortly.
Project Update as of March
19, 2009
After hearing new input regarding the landscaping plan for Cannon
Square, the Board of Warden and Burgesses have requested that architect Peter
Cummin of Cummin Associates review the current plan in light of the new input.
This review process has caused a change in the project schedule.
As of now, the cannons are being restored at three different
locations: wheels in PA, carriages in Pawcatuck, and tubes at a special
facility in Texas. The total project budget is now estimated at $95,000,
with almost 75% being used for the cannons themselves. Landscaping will
begin in the spring of 2010 with a target completion date of Memorial Day 2010.
To date, 28 citizens of our community have donated $54,000 for
this project, the Borough is providing $10,000 and the State of CT has approved
$20,000 for the project.
Project Update as of
December 19, 2008
At their meeting on December 15, the Board of Warden &
Burgesses voted 6 to 1 to proceed with the Cummin Plan for Cannon Square with an ongoing review of the tree selection. Just
before that meeting, an anonymous donor contributed $30,000 to the project and
requested that it be used for the electrolytic bath process to permanently
preserve the two cannon tubes. This process will begin in 2009 and will
be completed in 2011, with one tube being off-site at a time.
All other cannon restoration and landscaping will be finished by
June of 2009...just in time for a special 4th of July celebration at Cannon
Square.
Project Update as of
December 4, 2008
On December 4, the Borough of Stonington mailed over 500 letters
to all of the taxpayers in the 06378 zip code. The letter outlined much
of the information shown below and invited all citizens to a special public
meeting to be held
Project Update as of
December 2, 2008
The Borough of Stonington owns this historic property and is
overseeing the entire project. The SVIA is assisting in fundraising and
project management. The Stonington Historical Society has been involved
from the beginning, researching the history of this special place.
Our project consists of two categories of work:
The
Cannons Restoration of the cannon tubes, wheels and carriages will
take place in the Amish country of Pennsylvania and in Pawcatuck, CT.
The
Grounds This work includes trees, handicap access, flagpole,
topsoil, grass, cannon mounts, etc.
The two cannons will be restored off-site this winter and, while
they are away, the work on the grounds will begin. Soon, you will see a
temporary sign advising the public why the cannons are missing and what is
happening to the square. The cannons will be returned in June of 2009, and
landscaping will be completed after the restored cannons are in place.
Financial Details:
Total
project budget is $68,000 with 2/3 of the expense related to the cannons.
The
Borough stake in this entire project is $10,000 (not $99,150 as implied in the
recent petition).
A
combination of state and private funding will cover the remaining $58,000.
On Tuesday morning, Dec. 2, Warden Don Maranell oversaw the
placement of the temporary sign at Cannon Square.
Since October 20, when the Warden & Burgesses approved the
project, a group of Borough citizens attended the next board meeting and
challenged certain aspects of the project. After hearing their input, the
board has taken steps to better understand the total scope of the project and
to explore ways that the plan could be modified to best serve the interests of
all Borough citizens; past, present and future.
Part of the problem to date has been the lack of factual
information about the project, including the rationale behind the landscaping
plan developed by Cummin Associates. The Warden & Burgesses are
sending out a letter this week explaining the facts about the project and
inviting everyone to a meeting at Borough Hall on Saturday, December 13, at 2
PM. Following that meeting, the board will finalize their plans for the
Cannon Square Restoration Project.
Project Update as of
October 20, 2008
On the evening of October 20, The Board of Warden and Burgesses
unanimously approved the Cannon Square restoration project. The cannons will be removed in November and a
temporary sign will be at the site during their absence.
Project Update as of August
18, 2008
A public review meeting was held at Borough Hall on August 16 at
10 AM. The meeting was chaired by Warden Don Maranell and featured
presentations by:
Jim
Hicks, SVIA President and Project Coordinator
Sarah
Blair, Borough Burgess and Commissioner of Parks and Trees
Bob
Abramson, Cannon Restoration Engineer
Jim
Boylan, Historian (representing Stonington Historical Society.
For the most part, our plan was received very well and there
appears to be a growing enthusiasm in the Borough. The current budget
stands at $70,000 with about 60% of that devoted to the cannons themselves.
The remaining funds will be used to ensure that the finished product will
convey the beauty, dignity and care that this place of honor deserves.
Project Update as of July
30, 2008
Architect
Peter Cummin proposes a landscape plan to beautify the site in keeping with
historical precedent; his plan includes the planting of (high canopy) Princeton
Hybrid Elms at each of the four corners.
Ken Geer
has prepared an estimate for the earth, stone and lawn work required to execute
the plan. $25,000
Our
latest estimate from Bob Abramson for the cannons is $31,200; this does not
include the costly and time-consuming electrolytic reduction process that we
may defer for a later project.
Other
budget items include: irrigation system, temporary and permanent signage,
additional trees and planting costs, and transportation costs.
Total
Budget is now estimated at $70,000.
Project Sequence (Approval
and Planning in 2008; execution in 2009)
Get price
quotes; prepare budget and project plan schedule. July of
2008.
Prepare a
rendering of the finished project. Peter Cummin should complete by Aug
15.
Present
budget and plan to Borough officials. July 2008
Hold
public meeting in August of 2008.
Gain
approval from the Board of Warden and Burgesses by September
1.
Begin
fundraising process: businesses, nearby residents, SHS...
Prepare
signs for the square to "tell our story" while the cannons are
missing. Oct. of 2008
Remove
the fence and dispose. January of 2009.
Remove
cannons for restoration. (will be gone for an estimated 10 weeks)
Remove
concrete cannon mounts.
Temporarily
remove two remaining trees.
Remove
earth to a level 6 inches below the curb height...
Place
concrete mounting slabs for cannons (to be buried...per Bob Abramson and Peter
Cummin)
Fill
earth back up to curb height with good topsoil.
Install
underground irrigation system.
Re-plant
two existing trees; plant two new trees (all elms)
Replace
the cannons. April of 2009.
Install
sod; Ken Gear says that the key here is that the sod gets a lot of water. May '09.
Turn on
the water.
Add
permanent signage regarding the history of the cannons and Cannon Square and
the restoration project: date, joint effort of SVIA, the Borough and SHS.
June of 2009.
CELEBRATE!!
July 4, 2009 and August 10, 2009 (195th
anniversary of repressing British)
Other Notes:
Note that
items 10-16 take place while the cannons are being restored off-site.
We have
opted not to try to bring power to the square but to work on a greener, and
more attractive, alternative of using solar power.
Project Update Following
June 6 Cannon Meeting
1.
June 6 Meeting at SHYC. Our project team met
with Peter Fix of Texas A&M University to discuss his specialty of
restoring historic cannons using an electrolytic reduction process which can
take up to a year. Apparently, it's the only known method for arresting
the rusting a decay process that anything made of iron will always suffer.
2.
Questions. We came away from our meeting with a few questions for
Peter.
What is
your estimated budget (per cannon) for the process that you recommend?
How long
would that process require for the cannons to be off site?
Will your
price include the waxing and painting such that the cannons are ready to be
replaced directly to their carriages?
3. Possible Conclusion. We are
thinking that we might want to just touch up the two cannons in 2009, wait a
year and then send one cannon for the electrolytic reduction process in 2010
and the other the following year. This way there would always be at least one
cannon present.
4. Rendering from Architect Peter Cummin. Before
moving forward with our public hearing, we need to finalize our budget and we
need the rendering. Hopefully, we can schedule the hearing for sometime
in July.
5. Budget and Fundraising. As of
today, we have $10,000 pledged from the Borough, $20,000 pledged from the state
of CT, and $11,350 already collected from interested Borough citizens.
Total Project cost is estimated at $70,000, but there are still a few
unknowns, particularly related to the cannons themselves.
Other notes of interest Posted on June 18:
1. Light for Cannon Square flagpole.
From a flag etiquette standpoint, our flag should be illuminated in the
evenings if it is not taken down every night. Hence, we have decided to
go with a very inexpensive solar powered light that attaches to the pole.
It is unobtrusive, very efficient and a green, earth-friendly way
to go.
2. Plaque for Cannon Square. After the
completion of our restoration project, we are planning to install a bronze
plaque that describes the history of this special place.
Project Update as of May
19, 2008
1.
Historical Significance. We will work with
Stonington Historical Society to research the history of Cannon Square and,
with their help, will design a prominent bronze plaque that will be permanently
placed at Cannon Square upon completion of the project.
2.
Calendar. We have all concluded, for many reasons, that this will be a 2009
project. During 2008, we will work on:
Finalizing
our budget
Preparation
of rendering from Peter Cummin
Getting
approval from Warden & Burgesses
Encouraging
public support with public hearing.
Working
on fundraising campaign
Design
interim sign with rendering explaining what is happening, when and why.
3.
Projected Schedule:
August 1
-- Get approval
Sept-March
-- Fundraising with SHS
November,
2008. Install interim sign
January,
2009. Remove cannons for repair.
March,
2009. Begin landscaping and pouring of concrete slab, etc. for cannons,
monument, flagpole, stone steps, water supply.
May,
2009. Re-planting of the trees, sodding the lawn.
June 1.
Cannon re-installed.
July 4.
Public celebration....Back-up date is Aug. 9, the 195th anniversary of the date
when these cannons were used against the British fleet.
4.
Our budget will include:
Cannon
numbers from Bob Abramson
Projected
annual maintenance numbers, including water usage, from Bob Abramson.
Landscape
numbers from Ken Geer
Underground
sprinkler system from Shoreline.
Planting
numbers from Jim Wightman
Flagpole
lighting from Don Maranell
Temporary
sign from Jim Hicks
Permanent
plaque from Jim Hicks
Total
current estimate for our budget is $70,000.
5. Budget Summary:
Total
Restoration Project budget is currently estimated at $70,000.
The
cannons alone will account for almost half of that number.
The
Borough has agreed to contribute $10,000 of taxpayer dollars.
The State
of CT, with the assistance of Senator Andy Maynard, has pledged to contribute
$20,000 for the project.
The remaining
$40,000 will be raised via private fundraising efforts.
6.
Project Management. Jim Hicks (SVIA) will
continue to coordinate with the Historical Society and Sarah Blair will
continue to coordinate with architect Peter Cummin.
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