The Medal of Honor museum proposed for construction in Coolidge Park has drawn criticism from locals who want to preserve the park's green space, but some of the project's leaders are trying to move the plan forward by studying its problems for themselves.
Chattanooga City Councilman Jerry Mitchell and retired Maj. Gen. Bill Raines will be co-chairmen of an ad-hoc committee to develop a list of consensus recommendations for the project, the Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center announced Tuesday.
"The committee... will spend the next 60 days studying the various issues being raised about the proposed Heritage Center before submitting its final recommendations to Mayor Berke and the City Council for their review and discussion," the release said.
As it has been proposed so far by project designers, the two-story center would occupy one-tenth of an acre in the northeastern corner of the park next to Tremont Street.
In addition to a handful of people who have yet to be named, the committee will include Hamilton County Commissioner Jim Fields, former Chattanooga mayor Jon Kinsey, retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Noah Long, and Allen McCallie, an attorney with Miller & Martin PLLC.
"I look forward to working with this ad hoc committee to produce a set of consensus recommendations that will outline how our community can move forward on this important project," Raines said.
Raines and other leaders have argued the park was named in honor of one of Chattanooga's own Medal of Honor recipients, Charles Coolidge, and the center would pay homage to American veterans, an important fulfillment of the park's historical intent.
Mitchell said in the release he hopes the committee will "lay the foundation for building a consensus" around the Heritage Center, while embracing the city's heritage, honoring Coolidge and other area veterans, and addressing concerns raised by local residents.
According to Raines, a flood of suggestions and ideas has come from the public, and the committee will sift through those to come up with the best consensus possible.
"This is a big project that, in a way, it impacts all of Chattanooga," he said. "This will give us a chance to have a conversation with each other rather than an argument."
Multiple residents have said they aren't opposed to the museum, but rather the decision to relinquish a portion of the park for it. Some have argued the museum could be placed almost anywhere else in the city and gain their full support.
Jay Nevans, a race director at Scenic City Multisport who is running this fall for the District 1 seat on the City Council, said he supports the museum, just not in Coolidge Park.
"The issues that I keep hearing, and agree with, are that the downtown green space is limited and that property is expensive," he said.
The architecture of the center, which is reminiscent of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., also is a problem for Nevans. He said the design is incongruous with the rest of the park's buildings.
Aside from the design, Nevans said one of his biggest problems is how the proposal has been handled since its introduction several months ago.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with having a Medal of Honor museum, but the location, architecture and process were all mishandled," he said. "They did not build a process of collaboration."
Ultimately, the City Council will vote on whether to move forward with the lease of land, which is being negotiated by Mayor Andy Berke's office.
A spokeswoman for the mayor's office said on Aug. 24 the vote for approval had not been scheduled on the council's agenda yet, and the mayor's office still was analyzing feedback from citizens before making a recommendation to the council.
Berke said, "My office has received hundreds of emails, phone calls, and messages on the proposed center, and across the board, Chattanoogans want to honor the sacrifice of our medal recipients. Since the beginning of these discussions, my goal has been to build a successful heritage center that has the support of the entire community."
"We will continue to work alongside museum leadership and the community to determine a location that will both work for all involved and, most importantly, honor our heroes."
Contact staff writer Emmett Gienapp at egienapp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731. Follow him on Twitter @emmettgienapp.