waco — Cultural Arts of Waco is turning to the city again to help them finish a project that honors Waco native and Pearl Harbor hero Doris Miller.
The organization needs more than $236,000 to finish construction on the memorial at Bledsoe-Miller Park.
Doreen Ravenscroft has been the driving force to complete the memorial for years.
"Through his actions in the Navy it made a lot of things change for the good,” Ravenscroft said. “Especially when fighting for your country.”
Waco Cultural Arts Fest raised $2.5 million to fund the memorial, which included more than $180,000 from Waco's Tax Increment Financing Board. Ravenscroft said they thought that was enough, but because of the memorial's proximity to the Brazos River, the floodplain maps changed that.
"We've raised the memorial four feet, which now we have 10-foot pylons in the grounds plus another four feet of concrete,” Ravenscroft said. “So that has put a much larger amount of money into the project.”
In additions, more lighting is required to meet city regulations and for the safety of visitors at the park. Ravenscroft said if their request is denied they will need a new plan.
"I'll just keep fundraising,” Ravenscroft said. “I'll be standing on the corner. I mean we made this into two phases and this help us complete phase one."
Ravenscroft will meet with the TIF board Thursday morning. She said she is praying for a favorable decision.
There's hope the Doris Miller memorial will be completed on Pearl Harbor Remembrance day, which is Dec. 7.
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