There's strong opposition to a plan by Citrus County and City Inverness leaders to relocate six veterans monuments from the west side of the Old Courthouse to the east side.

According to the Citrus County Chronicle, the Citrus County Historical Resources Advisory Board is recommending against the relocation, saying it would destroy the historic nature of the building.

County commissioners are expected to take up the matter April 28 or May 12.

City Manager Frank DiGiovanni told The Chronicle he would consider the advisory board’s recommendations, but said the relocation has been discussed for more than a year and well-vetted with others in the community, including veterans groups.

“I’m not saying that those plans are final and I’m not saying that they are the only plans or that we’re not working them any further,” DiGiovanni said. “However, the need to     improve on what already exists has been freely expressed by a number of voices for quite some time, and the status quo was not found desirable.”

Due to the changing cityscape, county and city officials want to move the memorials about 200 feet to the east side of the courthouse, where it is believed they will be more visible and more respected. Currently, those memorials are directly in front of the city’s event staging area where people gather. Kids sometimes climb on them and sit on top, the Chronicle noted.