Council pledges up to $40,000 to restore courthouse cannon, add time capsule

Commissioner Douly asked the DeKalb County Council on April 8 to cover any shortfall in restoring the courthouse cannon and adding a time capsule, saying the restoration contractor quoted roughly $29,700 and that donors were being solicited to offset the cost. "I'd like to come to you guys today to have ask for some money up to $40,000," Douly said, asking the council to pledge the difference between donations and the total project cost.

The request covered conservation work — drilling to the base, repairing and plastering cracks, painting, and potential drilling to place a time capsule — and related site improvements including fence and plaque repairs. Douly said some added expense could arise if the cannon is solid rather than hollow and requested a contingency cushion to avoid repeated return trips to the council for small overruns.

Commissioner Rick Ring moved to amend the request to a $40,000 maximum from the auditor’s budget; Bob Craft seconded. The council approved the motion by voice vote.

The sponsor said the county will seek donations from American Legion posts and private donors and intends to have the restoration in place for a July 4 celebration tied to the county’s 250th observance. The motion commits the county to cover any portion of the project costs not covered by donations, up to the $40,000 cap. Council members asked that maintenance staff and a council liaison monitor the memorial going forward to avoid future deterioration.

The council did not set a separate appropriation number beyond the $40,000 cap and did not adopt a specific maintenance schedule in the vote; members discussed assigning a liaison to check the site annually.