Confederate Monument removal tabled by Supervisors
Confederate Monument Decision To Wait a Little Longer
A recommendation from the Botetourt County Committee on Monuments and Memorials to relocate the Confederate Monument at the Courthouse continues to stall. The Board of Supervisors tabled the matter following a public hearing at the March 23 meeting.
Eight people spoke at the public hearing, all against moving the monument. Citizens have been using the Board of Supervisors’ public comment period to speak against moving the monument for several months.
No one spoke in favor of relocating the monument.
Moving the monument came to the forefront after it was vandalized last summer following unrest nationwide that brought attention to statues that memorialized Confederate soldiers and the alleged use of the Confederate flag as a symbol of white supremacy.
The Confederate Monument has stood outside of the Botetourt County Courthouse since 1904. The Committee, which met for several months and held public meetings, had determined the Confederate Monument should be relocated but not altered. The Monument would remain within the boundaries of Main Street, Roanoke Street, Back Street and U.S. Route 220 in Fincastle, an area known as Courthouse Square.
The Botetourt County Courthouse in the next few years will undergo a major renovation due to environmental conditions and security deficiencies in the existing Circuit Court. Additionally, the Court needs more space and other offices such as the Commonwealth’s Attorney, Voter Registrar and associated service facilities require updating.
The supervisors had hoped to have drawings from the architect available to show where the Monument would be placed in the updated courthouse facility. However, the architectural renderings were not yet ready.
The public hearing was held as required by the Virginia State Code, which states a public hearing must be held before a governing body votes to remove, relocate, contextualize or cover a monument or memorial. Additionally, the county will have to wait for 30 days to see if any museum, historical society, government, or military battlefield wants the memorial.
Regardless of the public hearing, public referendum, or offer from a bona fide partner, the supervisors eventually have the final say in the disposition of the memorial.
Without the architectural drawings showing the proposed relocation of the Monument, the supervisors felt they could not make a decision at Tuesday’s meeting. The topic was tabled at the request of Chairman Mac Scothorn and seconded by Blue Ridge District Supervisor Billy Martin.
No time frame for the issue to come back before the Board was given.
— Anita Firebaugh, Special to The Botetourt Bee, Photo Cathy Benson