Jerry Weiers is at it again.
The Republican representative from District 12 made headlines in October after he arranged for a pair of companies to donate their time to repair the Capitol flagpole, which was damaged in a July thunderstorm.
Now he’s setting his sights on the entire plaza between the House and Senate buildings, hoping to spearhead an effort to turn the courtyard into a monument for active duty military personnel — complete with new flagpoles. And, like the repairs last year, privately funded.
He said the current configuration — mostly concrete interspersed with six plots of grass and roses — is “embarrassing” for the state and does not reflect the beauty of the Capitol building.
“It’s butt-ugly out there,” he quipped, adding he doesn’t know how to soften that rather blunt analysis. “I don’t know what the proper terminology is to be politically correct about it.”
The area between the two chambers has long been a source of scorn and ridicule for lawmakers and lobbyists alike.
“It’s just ugly,” said lobbyist Kristen Boilini. “It really just shows our contempt for our Legislature.”
H2725 signed by governor
The plan to redesign the courtyard is coming to fruition; Mr. Weiers’ H2725, which authorizes the memorial’s construction, was signed by the governor April 18. The bill was passed unanimously by both the House and the Senate.
The impetus for the monument stretches beyond the feelings inspired by the aesthetics of the Capitol grounds. Mr. Weiers said he had been asked by several people if he would do something this session for active duty military members. He said the issue struck a chord with him.
“All I ever see honoring our active-duty military is magnets on the backs of cars,” he said. “There’s no one place you can go to.”
Mr. Weiers said he also received an outpouring of support when he set out to repair the existing flagpole last year. The public, he said, seemed moved by the incident. He suspects they will likely feel the same about redesigning the courtyard, as well.
The plans are still in the early design stages. Phase one, which will be paid for by local businesses, call for the single flagpole to be replaced by a trio of poles positioned in a triangle. The tallest pole, which will be the closest to the Capitol, will fly the United States flag; the two other poles will fly the Arizona and Prisoner of War flags.
In homage to both state history and the adjacent Capitol dome, the flagpoles will be copper colored.
Nestled in the space amidst the three flagpoles will sit a monument to active duty members of the military.
Bricks to be sold
Phase two of the project is the part that excites Mr. Weiers the most. Bricks, inscribed with the name and rank of Arizona military personnel, will be sold across the state. He envisions service organizations ranging from the Boy and Girl Scouts of America to Kiwanis clubs to VFW outposts to high school ROTCs to Rotary clubs, selling the bricks to citizens in every corner of the state.
“I want all Arizonans to be able to participate in this,” he said.
All of the money from the brick sales will be used to pay for the landscaping effort needed to install them, with any leftover money being donated to Arizona veterans’ homes. Although a price has not yet been set for the bricks — at this point in the planning, a total cost for the project hasn’t yet been determined — Mr. Weiers said they should cost less than $100 apiece.
Selling the bricks at whatever price they end up being, he said, will be the easiest part of the project.
“I see an endless supply of bricks,” Mr. Weiers said. “As long as we have armies, we’ll have a supply of bricks.”