PARIS – A proposed veterans memorial was supported by selectmen and residents alike Thursday, but drew questions as to whether Moore Park is the right place for it.

Selectmen decided after a sometimes heated public hearing not to give the Paris Veterans Memorial Committee a plot in the park. The board requested that the committee come up with a more detailed plan on how much space the memorial would cover.

“I don’t think anyone’s saying no to this, from what I can see,” Chairman Ernest Fitts III said.

The committee has proposed placing five monuments in a semicircle in a corner of Moore Park where High and Park street intersect. The 32½-by-60-inch monuments would include the names of all men and women from Paris who served honorably in the military.

According to Larry Johannesman, an architect donating his services to the committee, a circular area 25 feet in diameter would be developed.

“I feel the design will be well integrated into the park,” Johannesman said.

Johannesman distributed a sketch of the proposed memorial drawn over a photograph, and noted that stakes have been placed in the park to mark the location, but he did not present the board with specifications.

Selectman David Ivey said he wanted to see “precise drawings” or a plot plan for the monument. Onni Raasumma, head of the memorial committee, said the group needs a plot before they can draw up plans or a design.

“We’re just starting,” Raasumma said. “We haven’t even started fundraising yet.”

Stacey Tibbetts, Paris recreation director, stated in a letter to the town that the majority of the parks and recreation committee opposes placing the monument in the town. Tibbetts argued that the monuments would take space away from recreational events such as an art show held in August, be vulnerable to vandalism, open the door to other groups requesting the installation of monuments in the park, and lead to an increase in maintenance costs.

“It’s an issue of what we have a potential to do there,” Tibbetts said.

Tibbetts said in the letter that the parks and recreation committee believes an alternate location for the monument would be ideal, and suggested the A.C. Lawrence site on Oxford Street.

The opposition of the parks and recreation committee led to strong reactions from members of the memorial committee.

“Tell the vets that you’d rather have an art show than honor the vets,” Raasumma said.

Memorial committee member Barbara Payne said she was “very disappointed” that the parks and recreation committee had not addressed its concerns sooner. Payne said the memorial would replace a wooden one that once stood in the park and help beautify the spot.

“It really is not taking up that much space,” Payne said. “That part of the park is underutilized, and it doesn’t look very good.”

Selectman Gerald Kilgore also expressed support for placing the memorial in the park, saying the space issue was “getting blown out of proportion.”

“I would say give them the land that they want there,” he said. “It’s not a big thing.”

Selectman Raymond Glover said he was in favor of the monument, but wanted to know the dimensions before approving a site.

Resident Andy Wickson, who said he is a veteran, also supported the monument but believed that the park was not the right place for it.

“I just think you need to do a little more homework,” he said.

A motion by Kilgore to give land in the park to selectmen was defeated 4-1. Ivey said the issue should be tabled until the committee comes up with a plot plan.