PITTSBURGH -- A cash donation box at the Flight 93 crash site will be removed, because state funding for security has eliminated the need for it, the property owner said Wednesday.

Mike Svonavec said he erected the box to cover security costs at the site near Shanksville, which includes a temporary memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But the box angered victims' families, and the National Park Service covered it with a black plastic bag.

Gov. Ed Rendell on Tuesday announced a $120,000 grant to pay for security at the site for two years, saying the victims' families should not have to raise the money themselves.

Svonavec, whose company owns 273 acres of the 1,300 acres that have been designated for a permanent memorial, said he installed the box to help pay for security, which has cost him $10,000 a month since federal funding ran out in February.

"We're very happy that Gov. Rendell stepped in to help the situation out," he said. "As we had said, we were looking for help and certainly this is a big step."

He said the grant eliminates the need for the box and that it eventually would be removed.

The Park Service's superintendent of the temporary memorial, Joanne Hanley, said the box remains covered.

"The only thing I can say is that it's very generous of the governor," she said.

Victims' relatives, who called the box an insult, also were angry because they said Svonavec was seeking millions for his property, far more than the value of nearby land.

The Park Service has a contract with Svonavec to use the land for the memorial, which was established by an act of Congress in 2002. But the act stipulates that land for the permanent memorial must be acquired from willing sellers.

Patrick White, vice president of an organization of victims' relatives called Families of Flight 93, said the group hopes news of the state funding will help inspire an agreement on land ownership.

"I think it's fair to say that although we're a willing buyer, it does not appear that as of yet we're working with a willing seller," he said Tuesday.

Svonavec, who owns the actual crash site, has refused to negotiate with the families, saying he will only deal with the Park Service. He owns the second-largest parcel of land after PBS Coals Inc., which owns 864 acres. Memorial planners have purchased only 60 acres so far.

A temporary memorial has been erected. Construction of a $58 million permanent memorial and national park is scheduled to begin by 2009, but fundraising has fallen well short of organizers' goals.

Flight 93 was en route from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco on Sept. 11, 2001, when four terrorists hijacked it, likely with the goal of crashing into the White House or the Capitol. The plane crashed as passengers apparently tried rushing the cockpit. All 33 passengers, seven crew members and the hijackers died.

---

Related Links:
More County News

Get RSS | E-Mail Alerts

---