This week marked the first step (after the project plan) for the “Walt Statue Project“. We answered questions at Marceline City Council, after sending them the project plan last week, and several Council members liked the idea. The Council also raised some questions, including the legal review that will eventually be needed, and is covered in the plan. They also asked that we return next month with other possible locations on Main Street USA – other than Ripley Square. That’s where we’d like your help: if the statue is going to represent Walt’s connection to Marceline and be highly visible to residents and visitors, where else on Main Street USA could work? Here’s a link to submit your location ideas – and, just as importantly, tell us if you support putting the statue in Ripley Square.
We also met with the Marceline Parks & Recreation Board this week and presented the project to them. They were very enthusiastic about the idea. They had one major suggestion that is worth serious consideration: instead of placing the statue in the center of Ripley Square, place it at the former gazebo location. There’s already a walkway to the location, and it would make the statue much more visible from Main Street USA, it would provide better natural surveillance to discourage vandalism or damage, and it would create a much better photo setting with the caboose, Diesel locomotive, and Museum behind the statue, instead of just the concession building… and that seems like a great update of the original idea.
This project is still at the beginning, but these conversations are exactly how we turn an idea into something Marceline can be proud of for generations, as well as a way for Walt Disney fans to contribute and be a part of Marceline. Please take a minute to complete the survey, share your thoughts about Ripley Square, and suggest any other location on Main Street USA you think would be a good spot. The more community input we can bring back to City Council next month, the better.