Removal of Confederate statues sparks debate in Kentucky
Louisville Urban League president Sadiqa Reynolds and Rep. Thomas Massie weigh in on 'The Story'
As the debate rages over Confederate monuments, communities that are removing these old, heavy structures are grappling with the basic logistics of how to do it safely and where to relocate them.
The methods have varied from place to place.
In Franklin, Ohio, for instance, workers used ladders to tie straps around a monument to Robert E. Lee and used a construction lifting machine to raise the structure off its pedestal. In New Orleans, city workers in New Orleans wore flak jackets and helmets as they used construction machinery to break off the top portion of a Confederate obelisk in the dark of night.
When officials in Brandenton, Florida, brought in a removal crew to take down a Confederate monument at a cost of $12,700, the structure broke into three pieces during the removal process. However, local officials said it will be easy to fix.
After that experience, officials in Tampa are proceeding even more carefully in removing a 14-ton, 32-foot-tall marble Confederate monument that is composed of two Confederate soldiers and an obelisk.
A Confederate monument that is set to be removed over the course of several days in Tampa, Florida. (Wikimedia Commons)
Beginning this week, Hillsborough County has hired a team of experts and workers to take down the structure in 26 separate pieces over the course of several days and truck it all off to a new location to be inspected, cleaned, repaired and reassembled.
County officials have hired an outside contractor to oversee the $280,000 project.
"It's a deliberate and meticulous process," Josh Bellotti, the county’s director of real estate and facilities services, told the Tampa Bay Times.
By the end of October, the site where the statue sits now will be covered in fresh sod.
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