Panel may weigh in on site of sculpture in Saratoga Springs

PHOTOGRAPHER: Lee Coleman

As the controversy over where to locate a 9/11 memorial sculpture continues, Mayor Scott Johnson said Monday he may appoint a broad-based committee to review several sites and make a recommendation to the City Council.

“I’m more than happy to provide the public with further comments as to the most appropriate site in the city,” Johnson said.

“I’m giving serious consideration to forming a committee of city officials and private citizens to review the sites and make a recommendation,” Johnson said.

Johnson will update the City Council on the issue at tonight’s meeting in City Hall.

Saratoga Arts Inc. commissioned the creation of “Tempered by Memory,” a steel sculpture made from twisted pieces of metal from the World Trade Center that was destroyed during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The arts organization, formerly called the Saratoga County Arts Council, has raised $171,000 of $196,000 for the sculpture being created by two local artists at a studio in Gansevoort.

The sculpture is intended as a work of art that honors those who died during the attack as well as their families left behind.

The arts council wants to donate the large sculpture, which is at least 20 feet high, to the city and have it unveiled and dedicated this Sept. 11.

The trouble is that not everyone agrees where the sculpture should be located.

The three sites currently under consideration include the city firehouse property on Lake Avenue, the Saratoga Springs Visitor Center lawn on Congress Street, and Congress Park.

At first the sculpture was going to be installed in front of the Saratoga Springs City Center, but this site was eventually considered to be too small for the size of the artwork.

A location on the lawn of the Saratoga Springs Visitor Center at Broadway and Congress Street was then proposed but some members of the community said this was not appropriate because the large sculpture would diminish views of the historic 1915 visitor center building.

Those opposed to the Visitor Center location suggested the city firehouse property on Lake Avenue. Mayor Johnson said Monday some people have also suggested a site in Congress Park.

Johnson said he would like to see the sculpture dedicated on Sept. 11 during ceremonies in Congress Park even if no site has yet been selected for it.

He said the sculpture could be brought in on a flatbed truck for the ceremony and then returned to the studio.

Joel Reed, executive director of Saratoga Arts Inc., said Monday he thinks there has been enough discussion about the site over the past six months.

He said the Visitor Center location has been approved by the city’s Design Review Commission and by preservation experts.

Reed said it appears Tempered by Memory is becoming political, with candidates running for City Council this fall using the sculpture as a campaign plank.

“It’s a little extreme,” Reed said. “I’m not taking any sides. Let’s cut out the mess and do the right thing.”

Reed said more than 200 people have donated to the Tempered by Memory project and that doesn’t include the students in the city school district’s six elementary schools who have contributed.

Lewis Benton, a former city parks and historic preservation director, said if the Visitor Center site is considered for the sculpture it is his opinion that a state Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process is necessary. Benton is against the Visitor Center site for the sculpture.

Johnson said the city consulted with attorney Mark Schachner, the city Planning Board attorney, and he said there was no legal requirement for SEQRA review for the Visitor Center location.