Confederate Memorial To Be Removed From Downtown Saint Augustine
JACKSONVILLE (CBSMiami) - Protesters are determined to keep a confederate memorial in downtown Saint Augustine.
Jeremy Patterson, with Progressive Construction, is in charge of the relocation project. He said Sunday that the process to remove it is underway.
"This thing is going to take us two to four weeks by the time we get it secure and safe and move it down the road and set it back up."
Patterson said he specializes in moving historic structures, his family has been in the business for four generations.
"We're going to have a steel frame built around it to protect it and then we'll jack it down put it on hydraulic dollies and we'll move it down the road," he said.
City commissioners voted to make Trout Creek Fish Camp the memorial's new home.
"They'll build a foundation under it and it'll be there for another couple hundred years," said Patterson.
Patterson said he understands there are passionate arguments on both sides of the debate so he's committed to keeping the process transparent.
"We want to do it daylight hours, we want (people) to know who's doing it, we're not here to cover up our names, we're not here to hide from everybody," he said.
His goal is preserving history, even if that means moving it to a different spot.
City leaders say the entire project is set to cost around $235-thousand.
