SUN-GAZETTE FILE PHOTO The Montoursville Memorial Gardens, located on Broad Street, remembers the 21 borough natives who died on Flight 800 in 1996.

After 22 years, the Montoursville Memorial Gardens at the Flight 800 Memorial Park are beginning to show their age.

Built in 1999 to honor Montoursville residents who lost their lives in the Flight 800 tragedy on July 17, 1996, the site located on Broad Street in the borough has been a visual reminder of that loss. Members of the high school French Club and their advisers were on their way to France when the plane crashed after taking off from John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing everyone on board.

The memorial gardens were constructed with funds donated for the project and a three-member perpetual care committee was established to oversee maintenance of the site. The property is jointly owned by the borough and the Montoursville Area School District, which each have a representative on the committee. The third member, currently Bob Weaver, is from the community.

“The site’s in need of significant improvements. The walkway has heaved significantly; it’s almost a tripping hazard,” Weaver told borough council recently. “That’s one of the most significant things that need to be done is the walk.”

In a report on the proposed work, it was noted that the lawns need to be restored. Ettinger’s Landscaping has volunteered to weed and feed the lawn at no cost. Hemlock trees along the east and west property lines are diseased and dying. Many have already been removed.

“Mr. Ettinger told us, 25 years ago they were a great choice — not today,” Weaver said.

Holly bushes along the north and south borders died this year and have also been removed.

Scott Konkle, the school district’s representative on the committee, and Mayor Steve Bagwell, representing the borough, were also at the council meeting.

Konkle presented council with a report from the perpetual care committee detailing a plan for the proposed renovations, which had been compiled with a representative of Ettinger’s. Any improvements have to be approved by the borough and district.

They include: removal of the brick walk and construction of a new walk of concrete pavers, which will be moved inward about 20 feet to eliminate the possibility of tree roots causing it to heave in the future; removal of the hemlock trees, replacing them with emerald green arbovitae; placing river gravel ground cover; and removal of the mulch around the maple trees, replacing it with pachysandra ground cover.

“The trees will remain, the monument will remain, the walk will be modified and the trees along the outside will be modified,” Weaver said.

The goal of the committee is to raise a total of $121,900 for the project. An anonymous donor has committed $25,000 toward the project with the understanding that all funds need to be in place. Although they haven’t worked out the particulars, the committee is planning some sort of fundraising campaign for the remainder of the funds.

Plans are to conduct the campaign over the next six months, with construction beginning in 2022. Ettinger’s will be the contractor for the project.

If all the funds can’t be raised, Weaver explained that there is an alternate plan for completing the most urgent renovations initially.

“If we can’t raise all of the funds, we will have a phased project,” he said.

The report stated that following the walk, the arbovitae screen would be next in the phased project and finally the ground cover at the maple trees.

“The walk is the highest priority right now, because that’s kind of a hazard the way it exists today,” Weaver said.