ALLEGAN, Mich. — On Monday night, veterans had a lot to say to Allegan city leaders. A proposal to move a veterans monument did not sit well with them.
"It's dear to us," says John West, a U.S. Army veteran and Allegan native.
One look inside the Allegan City Council chamber and you'll know that's true.
All the seats were full, nearly each one with a veteran, hurt by the proposal to move their monument.
"Why not give us a say?" asks West. "That's what this is basically all about."
West helped put the monument in back in 1990. He was one of the many veterans who addressed the council, sharing memories of the monument in hopes of keeping it in place.
"I grew up walking this boardwalk with my grandfather, who is also a veteran," shared one veteran who spoke.
Council members previously said they felt it may look disrespectful to have the monument so close to the city's splash pad. But veterans at the meeting say they're fine with it.
"It's disrespectful what you're doing," one said, "not the splash pad."
"I would like nothing more than to see a child run from the splash pad to the monument, put their wet hands on it, and ask mommy what's this?" says another.
Originally, the proposal was to move the monument to Oakwood Cemetery in order to put a new dumpster along the river front.
Before the public comment section began, Mayor Delora Andrus addressed the subject, saying the council had been moved by previous testimony.
"We started to rethink it," she says. "We rethought the entire thing."
"That showed there was a little more respect there," says West.
And after the meeting ended, that respect was mutual. Originally not on the agenda, the council made a new motion to look elsewhere for the dumpster to go and leave the monument as is.
It passed.
For West and all his fellow vets, it's hard work paying off.
"I'm so proud of my brothers here," says West. "There's some very, very wonderful people here in this room right now."
Watch the full public comment below:
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.