Oakland votes to keep historic pillars in place

Oakland town leaders reversed a previous decision regarding relocating two of the four remaining columns in Grace Park.

Initially, during a Jan. 28 commission meeting, commissioners agreed to relocate the two eastern columns to the other side of the western columns. This ensured at least part of the park remains in its original location.

The original decision came about because, although architectural drawings called for the town’s new Healthy West Orange Arts & Heritage Center to wrap around Grace Park, some town officials decided the construction was too close to the park. 

This all was contingent upon cost, which Town Manager Steve Koontz brought to the table during the Feb. 11 commission meeting.

“We were going to take the two eastern posts and they were going to be flipped to the west, so two posts were going to stay and only two posts would be moved,” Koontz told the commission. “There weren’t any caveats on that, but there was a lot of discussion about cost and … in my mind, it was ensuring we did this in a reasonable way where it was feasible and we weren’t going to mess up something that was already there. That’s been our plan all along, getting those costs and making sure we could do this without causing any issues with the existing posts.”  

Koontz said he had estimated the cost of relocating the two columns would be somewhere between $3,000 and $6,000. However, the estimate the town received was $8,500. A crane would be required to move the posts.

Relocating the columns in the first place was a matter of aesthetics. The decision was a compromise, and commissioners decided they would continue discussing further solutions if they weren’t happy with the cost.

Mayor Kathy Stark has been opposed to relocating the columns due to their historic significance.

“I don’t want to move something that I believe and remember to be historic when I moved in here,” Stark said. “I just don’t see the point. I don’t know how much more research can be done, because I just don’t think we have records to validate anything further than what we’ve done. This is the way it was drawn, this is the way the architect put it together. I just really, at the end of the day, don’t like moving historical things off historical sites.”

Commissioner Joseph McMullen said although there was valid concern to move the columns, there was enough debate surrounding the decision that he, too, was hesitant about it.

“We’re not trying to move it just to move it,” McMullen said. “We’re trying to move it because of a potential hazard in the future, because we don’t know what kind of foot traffic (we’ll have). There are valid points of why not to move it. We’re trying to get ahead of potential issues and potential challenges. At least we know there’s some good causation around it. 

“I know Commissioner (Sal) Ramos was the one that came up with the idea of moving two poles because of the tightness of the area,” McMullen said. “But if we have this much conversation around it, I’m with you … just leave it alone.”

After much discussion, the Town Commission voted 3-1 to reverse the decision and leave the columns as is. Town leaders will monitor the situation and readdress it at a later date, if need be.