The police memorial outside the Arnold City Hall and Police Station complex has a new look.
Renovations to the memorial were completed Nov. 22, Public Works Director Judy Wagner said.
The memorial is in the center of the municipal complex parking lot, 2101 Jeffco Blvd., and includes three new flagpoles. Previously, the memorial had just one flagpole, so the city used to fly the American, Missouri and POW/MIA flags on the same pole. Now each flag has its own pole.
Three prominent stones were added to the center of the memorial to honor the late Arnold Police Officers John H. LeCompte and Steven A. Jarvis. LaCompte was killed Nov. 21, 1976, when he was shot during an investigation, and Jarvis was killed June 14, 1977, when the vehicle he was sitting in working traffic control was struck by a tractor-trailer.
“We just hope and pray we never have to add another name to it,” Wagner said.
At one time the memorial included a small bubbling fountain, but it stopped working in the fall of 2021 and was removed during the renovations.
Wagner said the updates to the memorial were a big improvement.
“I think it is a modern memorial,” she said.
The city paid $114,972 for the renovations, Wagner said.
In May, City Council members agreed to pay Shelton Landscape and Maintenance in Arnold $93,800 to renovate the memorial and to pay American Heritage of Arnold $20,172 for the flagpoles. Wagner said the stone engraving cost $1,000.
Along with memorial stones and three flagpoles, lighting was added inside the circular memorial and paver stones that match those on the sidewalk outside the city complex were added to the site. Seat walls and columns were built around the memorial, which is surrounded by new shrubbery and accent lighting.
“It looks really good, especially at night when it is all lit up,” City Administrator Bryan Richison said.
He said he believes more people now realize the feature is a memorial because of the renovations.
“There was a memorial stone there, but it was on the edge and low to the ground. It was easy to miss,” he said. “Unless you were looking for (the memorial stone), what you saw was the water fountain, and I think most people had no idea the memorial was there.”
Richison said the new flagpoles also are an important update to the site.
He said the old flagpole had an old pully system that could be difficult to operate, and because the three flags were flown on the same pole, they often became entangled.
“Overall, it is a huge improvement over what we had previously,” Richison said.
The city plans to hold a rededication ceremony for the memorial, but those plans have not been finalized.
“When we get that together, we will publicize it,” Richison said.