Dallas City Council votes to remove Confederate monument from cemetery

DALLAS - Dallas City Council members voted to take down a Confederate monument in a downtown Dallas cemetery.

Members voted 11-4 in favor of a resolution that would declare the monument of Confederate soldiers inside Pioneer Park "a noncontributing structure for the historic overlay district."

That would allow the city manager to get approval from the landmark commission to remove the monument.

During Wednesday's council meeting, more than a half dozen people spoke to council members. Most were in favor of removing the monument.

It was far less public comment than previous meetings on the subject.

MORE: Majority on Dallas council leaning toward removal of Confederate monument from cemetery

Staff told council members the monument would have to be sawed into pieces in order to remove and store it.

The resolution allows for a budget of up to $480,000 to disassemble and remove the monument.

Last week, the council heard from an artist who was asked how she could update the monument, but she revealed few details.

The city council first made the controversial decision to remove and store the Robert E. Lee Confederate monument about a year and a half ago.

The statue itself was removed in a matter of weeks. It still sits in storage.

The decision generated intense backlash, but the backlash semed non-existent during Wednesday's meeting, with only one person speaking against the removal.