By Morgan Montalvo
WOAI News
It was another round of presentations and protests last evening as the Alamo Citizens Advisory Committee introduced its latest incarnation of a comprehensive renovation and redesign plan for "the shrine of Texas liberty," News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Monday evening's town hall gathering at the Menger Hotel attracted about 150 supporters and critics of what the committee calls its Comprehensive Interpretive Plan.
"We want people to have an experience that tells all the story, a complete story, at the Alamo that goes way back to indigenous period, the mission era, and of course the battle and, of course, the modern-period San Antonio," says District 1 City Councilman Roberto Trevino, a member of the committee.
Trevino says gone is an earlier idea: plexiglass walls that would surround the restored and reconfigured Alamo grounds.
He says the latest proposal improves "24-7" access to the Alamo grounds via two additional access points, and traffic redirection and adjustment that includes a "ceremony and traditions zone" to preserve the Battle of Flowers Parade route during Fiesta each spring.
About 20 protesters voiced their opposition to moving the cenotaph - the large monument to the Alamo defenders currently situated directly in front of the Alamo - about 500 feet south, but still on Alamo Plaza property.
Groups that oppose moving the cenotaph regularly attend Alamo grounds redesign meetings and events.
One of the demonstrators, Crystal Ross with Texas Freedom Force, says she agrees with some parts of the proposal.
"I do support closing the streets, except for the parade; I support keeping the buildings intact for the museum," says Ross, a descendant of both Alamo and Goliad fighters.
Relocating the cenotaph, she says, is one element of the plan she won't endorse.
"They're gonna move it whether we want to, you know, support it or not," Ross says. "I just don't trust the city."
Less vocal, but present, at last evening's meeting were a handful of representatives from Native American groups, including Antonio Diaz with the Texas Indigenous Council.
Like Ross, Diaz believes that the major Alamo redesign decisions already have been made.
"It's a monument to white supremacy, so why should a Native American care what they do with it?" asks Diaz.
"It shouldn't have been put there to begin with," Diaz says, "so at this point whether they move it an inch or move it a mile, I don't really care."The committee meets again on Thursday.
PHOTO: A crowd of about 150 people attended Monday evening's Alamo Citizens Advisory Committee meeting at the Menger Hotel to get the latest details on plans to renovate and reconfigure the Alamo environs. Photo by Morgan Montalvo