For Algona Police Officer Joel Sutter, the city’s new veterans memorial is a project close to his heart.

Sutter and members of the community gathered last Saturday to officially dedicate the granite memorial – a year in the works – that now graces a spot in front of City Hall.

Sutter, a disabled veteran who served in the U.S. Navy, decided to take on the memorial project as part of the department’s Community Oriented Policing program.

“I thought, ‘What better thing to do than thank the vets in our city, because I know there are several,’ ” Sutter said. “I went from there.”

Sutter said the costs of the memorial were negligible because of all the help from the community.

“The granite was donated, as was the time to chisel it all out,” he said. “The concrete was donated, and public works worked with us also. The only real costs we had were the materials to blast it out, and that was covered by Behr Paint.”

CJ’s Concrete Construction, Albertsons, Stone Art and Signs and the Algona Public Works Department provided materials and labor, Sutter added.

Sutter also thanked members of the Auburn Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1741, who turned out with their color guard to dedicate the new memorial.

“This monument represents those who served in the armed forces and made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms … freedom of speech and the democracy we all enjoy,” said Mike Sepal, the post’s junior vice commander. “VFW Post 1741 wishes to congratulate Algona Police Officer Joel Sutter for organizing this memorial for the community.”