We ran down the latest on the Gen. Daniel “Chappie” James Jr. Memorial Plaza.
‘Chappie’ James Memorial on Hold
By Tom St. Myer
In May 2022, the Gen. Daniel “Chappie” James Jr. Memorial Foundation unveiled renderings for a memorial plaza. The rendering included a 10-foot bronze statue of the general, a restored F-4 Phantom II fighter jet from the Vietnam era and an 80-foot flagpole with a giant American flag.
Foundation board chairman Cris Dosev predicted the plaza would be completed by the end of 2022, and a dedication ceremony would occur in early 2023. However, as 2024 comes to a close, the plaza remains merely a rendering, and an agreement between the Foundation and the City of Pensacola has an expiration date.
Six months earlier, the Foundation announced that nationally renowned sculptor Ed Dwight, a former U.S. Air Force test pilot and the first Black astronaut candidate, had been selected to sculpt the statue memorializing General James at the bridge’s landing. Fundraising began in the fall of 2021.
The Pensacola City Council voted in favor of allocating $150,000 to the Foundation’s memorial fund in December 2021. Overall, the City has allocated $250,000 to the project, with the other $100,000 coming from local option sales tax funds. Wheeler said there is an unexpended balance of nearly $82,000.
In February 2022, then-Mayor Grover Robinson announced the memorial tribute would be relocated north of the bridge.
“There wasn’t enough room on the waterside to be able to do this, so it is going to be on the north side right there by the visitor center,” said the mayor. “When you come down the 17th ramp, you’ll look right to your right, and it’ll be right there, along with some other things on the 17th. It’ll be a very nice tribute.”
Mayor Robinson persuaded the city council to accept an Air Force jet similar to one flown by Gen. James.
“The Air Force won’t give it to anybody else but will give it to municipalities,” he said. “We are going to step up to make it happen. They want it to be a tribute to Chappie James.”
The city council granted the Foundation exclusive rights to construct the plaza and associated installations on a portion of Wayside Park, but the stewardship agreement between the two sides automatically terminates June 30, 2025, “unless the Foundation has provided documentation in a form acceptable to the City evidencing the full funding required for construction of the Plaza and Associated Installations.” The agreement further requires the Foundation to provide funding for at least three years of anticipated maintenance, repair and upkeep.
“That says, ‘Hey, yeah, you can have it here, but you don’t have 10 years to build it,’” Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves said. “I mean, there’s some finite amount of time that you’re going to have for us to consider it. But again, we’re supportive of it and I think it’s just a matter of getting it funded and whatever mechanism they plan on taking on to do that. We’re at the ready when that funding’s in place and we’re comfortable with it then.”
Jason Wheeler, the city’s public information and strategic communications officer, said the city has approved the project except for the building and electrical plans. He stated those may need to be updated to meet the 2023 Florida Building Code and 2020 National Electrical Code.
The city has done its part to turn the vision into reality. The agreement states that moving forward, “there should be only a minimal annual financial impact to the City associated with general maintenance type items.”
So what is the holdup? Read more.
