Sept.
11, 2006 -- The Soldiers Home Foundation
has raised nearly $200,000 to restore the 1889 Chapel
on the Veteran Administration grounds.
"Since
July 2005, we have patched holes and installed a
donated furnace to hold off continued deterioration,"
Foundation President Kristin Gilpatrick wrote in
a letter to donors.
The
Soldiers Home and VA grounds are southwest and west
of Story Hill.
The
chapel
The
foundation's goal is to raise $2.5 million by June
so that the Chapel can be restored by the end of
2008.
The
foundation hired Kubala Washatko Architects, Inc.,
of Cedarburg, in April to help deveop a two-phase
restoration and architectural design.
The
non-profit organization also is developing a business
plan for the restoration and for using the chapel
for veterans' funerals, VA and visiting chaplain
use, community and multi-denominational use, and
historic displays.
A
community listening session to discuss general plans
for the building will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday,
Sept. 14, on the Chapel lawn, just before the 6:30
p.m. Star Spangled Concert. The concert also will
be held on the lawn, which is north of the VA Medical
Center, 5000 W. National Ave., and just west of
Miller Park.
The
concert will feature the Festival City Barbershop
Choir, the Master Singers of Milwaukee, and others
performing the Star Spangled Banner and other patriotic
tunes. A display of early American flags is also
planned.
Aug.
14, 2006 -- The Department of City Development
still isn't saying whether veterans were deliberately
kept in the dark regarding the city's potential
development of part of the Veterans Administration
grounds.
storyhill.
net first asked DCD spokeswoman Andrea Rowe Richards
about it last Thursday, but the response Rowe Richards
provided didn't answer the question (see story below).
storyhill.net
asked again on Friday.
Rowe Richards did not respond at all.
Were
vet groups shut out of VA grounds planning info? American Legion official says
they were
Aug.
11, 2006 -- Veterans service
groups like the American Legion were shut out of
discussions about the potential city development
Veterans Administration grounds, a Wisconsin American
Legion official charged this week.
David
Kurtz, vice commander of the legion, said city official
repeatedly told vets that VA officials directed
the city not to talk to veterans organizations about
potential plans for the site.
A
VA official immediately denied issuing such a directive.
A Department of City Development representative
dodged a direct inquiry about it.
DCD
spokeswoman Andrea Rowe Richards said in an e-mail
that "We want to invite veterans' groups and
the community to join us in a planning effort for
the VA grounds."
Rowe
Richards also laid out a number of city goals for
the VA site. To read her full response, click here.
Kurtz
made his allegations during a meeting Wednesday
night at Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
The meeting was held to discuss the city's possible
role in developing part of the VA grounds, a proposal
that was met with overwhelming hostility from the
veterans in attendance.
"The
City of Milwaukee has ... made a number of announcements
about their grandiose plans, held out different
private organizations that they've been negotiations
with and have, apparently, agreements with,"
Kurtz said. "Yet the charter veterans' service
organizations, chartered by Congress, have been
studiously ignored."
Claude
Hutchison, director of the VA's Office of Asset
Management Enterprise, said there was an agreement
with the city that no comments would be made to
the press until "there was a meeting of the
minds and something could move forward."
As
far as telling the city not to talk to veterans
organizations, "I can certainly assure you
that did not emenate from my office, and I think
I'm the primary contact for the city."
The
city has been negotiating with the Veterans Administration
over potential redevelopment of part of the grounds
and restoration of some of the historic buildings.
City officials feel they have the best chance of
coming up with a proposal that will please veterans,
preservationists and the neighboring communities.
The VA grounds are just southwest of Story Hill.
The
Veterans Administration has made clear its intention
to lease part of the site to defray costs of providing
health care to veterans.
Some
of the veterans said Wednesday night that the the
veterans cemetery, which is full, should be expanded
into the section being targeted for development.
"This
is a question for the Veterans Administration to
answer," Rowe said.
Veterans
unhappy with VA grounds development plans
Listen
(These sound files work best with
Internet Explorer. However, because of patent
litigation involving Microsoft, you may
have to click a few times to play them.)
David Kurtz
Al Lewis, Iraq war veteran,
who learned to walk again at Zablocki
Other
vets and a grieving mother
To
read information from the VA about the process it
is using to develop the grounds, click here.
