The funding would cover the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue at Lee Circle, the Jefferson Davis statue on Jefferson Davis Parkway, the PGT Beauregard equestrian statue on Esplanade Ave. and the Battle of Liberty Place Monument at Iberville Street.
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Several opponents and one supporter of removal offered comments.
Andy Kopplin, the city’s chief administrative officer, said in a letter to council that the monuments were erected to “perpetuate a false history that literally puts the Confederacy on a pedestal”. “True remembrance is required, not blind reverence”.
In order to remove Confederate-related monuments in the city without it being a burden to taxpayers, Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s top aide told the Advocate that a private donor has volunteered to finance the entire process.
The City Council meeting will take place at Council chambers in City Hall beginning at 10 a.m. “These are funds that could be better spent maintaining city facilities”, Patterson wrote.
A council agenda published this week allots time for submissions from the Historic District Landmarks Commission, which recommended the removal of four Confederate monuments; the Human Relations Commission, which also recommended removal of all four statues; and the Vieux Carre Commission, which suggested the relocation of the Battle of Liberty Place monument. “It seems clear to me that continued maintenance of these four monuments constitutes and expense that outweighs the historic important and/or basis for display”. “As a matter of fact, I don’t know where each of the council members stand. I know where I stand, and where I stand right now, I am likely to vote to remove the monuments”.
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City Councilman James Gray said his colleagues haven’t come to a consensus on the controversial issue.
