Kissimmee city employee monument back at City Hall

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Kissimmee city employee monument back at City Hall

Around Osceola

Wednesday, 31 March 2010 00:00

Special to the News-Gazette
The city of Kissimmee Employee Monument is finally returning home to City Hall, 17 years after it was relocated at the Kissimmee lakefront.
The monument, which bears the engraved names of 285 retired employees for a combined total of 5,769 years of service, will be celebrated Friday at its new location in front of City Hall.
A memorial service is hosted each year on Good Friday to honor retirees and the memory of the deceased employees whose names are listed. Additionally, a medallion has been placed next to the name of a retiree to designate if he or she have passed away.
“The employees I have been talking to at City Hall are saying that this is a fabulous move,” City Parks and Recreation Director Dan Loubiér said. “They think it is such a more appropriate location.”
The Lakefront Park renovation allowed the opportunity to bring the monument back to its original location.
The original monument was an engraved piece of gray granite that was created in 1988 when the city lost its first police officer, Thomas Bartholomew, while in the line of duty. The name of employees who pass away, while in service to the city, continue to be added to this piece of granite.
In 1993, a movement was spearheaded by 238 employees who signed a petition supporting the concept and design of a new monument that would incorporate the names of retired employees, with the original monument honoring fallen employees.
The employees donated the money and materials required to make the project a reality. Through their hard work and persistence, the current monument was built in Lakefront Park. And although the Kissimmee Utility Authority and Tohopekaliga Water Authority (TWA) are independent agencies – they continue to add their employees’ names to this shared monument. The authority was once an arm of the city.
Much planning and extreme attention to detail enabled the city’s Public Works and Engineering and Parks and Recreation departments. Through heavy machinery, work crews were able to lift the monument onto a trailer where a crane later set it in place at City Hall.
In order to be listed on the monument as an honored retiree, employees must have completed the required number of years of service (typically 10) to qualify for, and receive benefits through their respective pension plan.
The monument is a treasured piece, which has returned to a location of prominence at Kissimmee City Hall, where it continues to hold a place in the hearts of the employees, the press release said. Deputy City Manager Mike Steigerwald said retirees from all over the country have returned to attend the ceremony each year.
“There is a tremendous sense of pride from our retired employees,” Steigerwald said.
The ceremony will begin at City Hall at 10 a.m.
Associate Editor Brian McBride contributed to this report