GREENWICH, CT — Greenwich resident and former state Sen. L. Scott Frantz (R-36) has come forward and offered to cover the cost of erecting a statue of President George H.W. Bush in the downtown area.
The Greenwich Board of Selectmen briefly discussed the idea during its regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday.
According to a letter from Frantz to Camillo, which was included in agenda materials, the cost of a life-size, bronze statue of the former president is estimated to be between $30,000 and $45,000, with installation costs of $20,000 and lighting at $5,000.
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Frantz, who served in the state Senate from 2009 to 2019, wrote in the letter that the costs “will be covered by myself and anyone else who wishes to contribute.”
The statue would be part of an overall enhancement of Veterans Plaza Park, the area in front of Restoration Hardware at Greenwich Avenue and Arch Street, that features war monuments. The plaza was first dedicated in 1927.
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First Selectman Fred Camillo has expressed a desire to light up the flagpole in the plaza, as well as the 50-foot obelisk that commemorates World War I.
Additionally, Camillo said an old drinking fountain could be removed, with a new, illuminated water feature added.
“It’s really just enhancing the area,” Camillo said.
No votes were taken Thursday. Camillo said the town will seek Municipal Improvement status for the enhancement project first, then the Representative Town Meeting will ultimately have to sign off on accepting the gift of the statue.
“This is receiving a lot of good feedback, but we want to make sure we do the process exactly right, so we’re trying to follow the blueprint of other gifts [in town],” Camillo added.
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Bush spent his formative years in Greenwich when his father, Prescott Bush, was a U.S. Senator from Connecticut.
He attended Greenwich Country Day School, and also met his wife of 73 years, the late Barbara Bush, at a dance in town.
When Bush turned 18, he enlisted in the Navy and eventually flew 58 combat missions during World War II, his official White House biography says.
During one mission over the Pacific Ocean, Bush was shot down by Japanese anti-aircraft fire and he was rescued from the water by a U.S. submarine, according to his bio. Bush was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in action.
Bush served as the CIA director, ambassador to the United Nations and vice president before he was elected as the 41st president of the United States in 1992.
Bush died on Nov. 30, 2018, at the age of 94.
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