PLUMSTED – Municipal officials have appointed a committee that will work to create a memorial to mark the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Officials said expectations are that the memorial will be completed in time to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks next year.
Mayor Jack Trotta, Assistant Treasurer Sharon Gower and Municipal Clerk Dorothy Hendrickson were named to the committee.
Trotta said the memorial will include a piece of steel from the World Trade Center in New York City, one of the sites of the terrorist attacks.
“With 2016 being the 15th anniversary of the attacks, we thought it would be nice to get this piece of steel displayed in our town,” the mayor said.
In September 2013, municipal officials accepted an 8-inch-long piece of steel from a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey program that distributes pieces of metal from the twin towers that were destroyed in the attacks.
The piece of steel has “Recovered Steel World Trade Center” inscribed on one side and the date of the attacks on the other side.
A final plan for the memorial has not been determined, although Trotta said his initial findings suggest it could consist of a pedestal with an acrylic case to hold the piece of steel.
Additional memorials could be located near the pedestal.
“The way I envisioned this display is that it would be something we would do inside our municipal building,” Trotta said.
While a firm has not been selected to create the memorial, initial cost estimates for the project could fall in line with a trust fund that was created for a memorial, Trotta said.
The Sept. 11 memorial trust fund has been supported by donations that have been made by residents and business operators during the past 14 years.
“Basically, from what I have seen so far, [$1,000] is what it is going to cost us for the display,” Trotta said. “It is not going to cost us anything out of pocket.”
The mayor said a plan for the memorial should be drawn up in about six months.
“I would assume this is going to be done with more than enough time before the 15th anniversary,” he said.
The Township Committee will review the design.
“I believe we can do something nice in this town to remember that day,” Trotta said.