Madison County begins process to move Confederate monument

Madison County begins process to move Confederate monument

New information.... the madison county commission is now waiting on word from the state to see if they will be able to remove the confederate monument outside the courthouse and lawfully move it to a different location.

Where, when, and if the statue can be moved to are all still unanswered questions.

Waay 31's sophia borrelli was at the meeting where at least 20 people shared their opinions on the matter.

Sophia?

Sot from person at meeting: "i want it removed so that it sends a message back that that's no longer good enough for the citizens of madison of madison county."

Sot from person at meeting: "i earnestly request that you do your duty, and my ancestor's war memorial be protected and preserved where it is, as it is."

People outside and inside the courtroom - voicing their opinions on whether a confederate monument which sits outside the madison county courthouse should be removed.

Today the madison county commission voted unanimously to ask the state to give them permission to move the monument somewhere else.

Jeshenry malone, district six commissioner: "proudly i can say this was a unanimous vote from the madison county commission and i think that speaks volumes as to where we want to go with this movement."

As it stands right now - the alabama monument preservation act requires local governments to ask for permission to move monuments on public property which are 40 years old or older.

If a monument is removed without the state's permission - the local government would have to pay a 25 thousand dollar fine.

One local non-profit president says he has raised enough money to reimburse the county commission to pay the fine if they remove the monument.

David odom, works in madison county: "let's just pay the fine to remove this raciest symbol out of the city."

Madison county commission chairman dale strong says it's about removing the statue in lawfully.

Dale strong, madison county commission chairman: "it is a civil penalty and again i think everyone prefers a legal remedy to this situation."

Live: we asked the commission how long they believe it will take until they get a response from the state and they told us they did not know when that would happen.

In huntsville - sophia borrelli waay 31 news.

Commissioner phil vandiver said the best option is to relocate it and have it be in conjunction with the confederate cemetery.

There are still discussions as to where the commission would like to move the monument to, but he said one thing is for certain - it does not need to remain on courthouse