Boro near completion on Sept. 11 memorial
Boro near completion on Sept. 11 memorial Monument has cost Sayreville $255K, will be dedicated on Sept. 9BY MICHAEL ACKERStaff Writer
JEFF GRANIT staff Sayreville police Detective Ken Kelly, who heads the borough's 9/11 Memorial Committee, shows the nearly completed memorial, which also includes two granite towers and a marble stone with the names of Sayreville's four victims.Just in time for the five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, workers are putting the finishing touches on Sayreville's long-sought memorial.
Two replica towers made of granite stone now stand tall at the memorial site, located at Burke's Park on Washington Road.
All that remains to be done is the installation of pavers and some site work, according to Sayreville police Detective Kenneth Kelly, chairman of the borough's 9/11 committee. Kelly resigned from the post earlier this year due to a disagreement over the Borough Council's handling of the memorial, but subsequently returned.
The memorial, which is being built by Peter Ferro Construc-tion Co. Inc., of South River, at a cost of $255,650, was originally supposed to be located outside the Sayreville Middle School. The council decided to change the location of the memorial based on security concerns that were discussed in closed session earlier this year.
JEFF GRANIT staff Part of the new memorial, pictured here with Detective Ken Kelly, recognizes the four Sayreville residents who lost their lives on 9/11.Kelly told Greater Media Newspapers that he returned as committee chairman early this summer and has been working with the borough engineer and the monument contractor to expedite the project. Kelly said his decision came at the request of Mayor Kennedy O'Brien.
"I [was] asked by the mayor again to be chairman of the 9/11 Memorial Committee, and I accepted," Kelly said.
Borough Engineer Jay Cornell said construction of the memorial, which began in early June, is expected to be complete in time for a ceremony planned for the weekend prior to the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Lights, he said, were still being installed. He noted that the delivery of the monument required heavy equipment to transport it to the site.
Borough officials began planning for the memorial in 2002, though a year later the parents of Robert Hughes Jr. - who was 23 when he died in the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center - approached the Borough Council to question why other towns had built memorials but not their hometown. A subcommittee created by O'Brien subsequently used the input of the families of Sayreville residents killed on Sept. 11 in planning for the memorial.
In all, four Sayreville residents died on 9/11. In addition to Hughes, the victims were Judy Fernandez, Donna Giordano and Vinod K. Parakat.
Kelly said the borough's memorial will be dedicated in a ceremony at Burke's Park at 10:05 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 9.
"The memorial is shaping up nice," Kelly said, "and I have got the program finished [for the ceremony.]"
Those who wish to attend the dedication of the 9/11 memorial are asked to be at the monument no later than 9:30 a.m. A rain date is scheduled for Sept. 10.
JEFF GRANIT staff Sayreville police Detective Ken Kelly, who heads the borough's 9/11 Memorial Committee, shows the nearly completed memorial, which also includes two granite towers and a marble stone with the names of Sayreville's four victims.Just in time for the five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, workers are putting the finishing touches on Sayreville's long-sought memorial.
Two replica towers made of granite stone now stand tall at the memorial site, located at Burke's Park on Washington Road.
All that remains to be done is the installation of pavers and some site work, according to Sayreville police Detective Kenneth Kelly, chairman of the borough's 9/11 committee. Kelly resigned from the post earlier this year due to a disagreement over the Borough Council's handling of the memorial, but subsequently returned.
The memorial, which is being built by Peter Ferro Construc-tion Co. Inc., of South River, at a cost of $255,650, was originally supposed to be located outside the Sayreville Middle School. The council decided to change the location of the memorial based on security concerns that were discussed in closed session earlier this year.
JEFF GRANIT staff Part of the new memorial, pictured here with Detective Ken Kelly, recognizes the four Sayreville residents who lost their lives on 9/11.Kelly told Greater Media Newspapers that he returned as committee chairman early this summer and has been working with the borough engineer and the monument contractor to expedite the project. Kelly said his decision came at the request of Mayor Kennedy O'Brien.
"I [was] asked by the mayor again to be chairman of the 9/11 Memorial Committee, and I accepted," Kelly said.
Borough Engineer Jay Cornell said construction of the memorial, which began in early June, is expected to be complete in time for a ceremony planned for the weekend prior to the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Lights, he said, were still being installed. He noted that the delivery of the monument required heavy equipment to transport it to the site.
Borough officials began planning for the memorial in 2002, though a year later the parents of Robert Hughes Jr. - who was 23 when he died in the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center - approached the Borough Council to question why other towns had built memorials but not their hometown. A subcommittee created by O'Brien subsequently used the input of the families of Sayreville residents killed on Sept. 11 in planning for the memorial.
In all, four Sayreville residents died on 9/11. In addition to Hughes, the victims were Judy Fernandez, Donna Giordano and Vinod K. Parakat.
Kelly said the borough's memorial will be dedicated in a ceremony at Burke's Park at 10:05 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 9.
"The memorial is shaping up nice," Kelly said, "and I have got the program finished [for the ceremony.]"
Those who wish to attend the dedication of the 9/11 memorial are asked to be at the monument no later than 9:30 a.m. A rain date is scheduled for Sept. 10.
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