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Should tourism funds pay for an inscribed entrance at the Veterans Memorial at Shelter Cove?

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Should a sign at the Veterans Memorial at Shelter Cove Community Park inscribed with the message "To all veterans who served that others may be free" be paid for with tourism tax dollars?

That's the question that will be discussed Monday by the Beaufort County Council, as a local veterans coalition seeks funding to add the finishing touches to the monument.

Earlier this week, a County Council committee was split over whether to put $30,000 in tourism-related revenues toward funding the granite sign planned for the memorial's entrance.

The committee voted 4-to-3 to fund the project, despite objections to using tax dollars intended to promote tourism.

Because the vote was close, committee members sent the funding request to the full County Council, to be considered Monday at the Bluffton library.

In a letter to the panel, retired U.S. Naval Reserve Capt. Bill Baker, fundraising chairman for the Hilton Head Island Military Veterans Coalition, wrote that his group thought the memorial qualified for tourism money. Baker said in an interview that after receiving more than $1.5 million for the memorial from the Town of Hilton Head Island and $115,000 in private donations, the coalition wanted to give the county a chance to chip in for "a finishing touch rather than go out again to the general public" for the money.

Council member Laura Von Harten of Beaufort, who voted against the request, said the memorial isn't "really a tourist destination."

She also argued it wasn't a proper way to spend taxpayer dollars. "It's something that could easily be funded through private fundraising efforts."

Councilmen Steve Baer of Hilton Head and Bill McBride of St. Helena Island also voted against the funding request. Baer said Wednesday that he didn't relish voting down the $30,000; he wanted the council to find another source of money.

The four councilmen who voted for the money -- Skeet Von Harten, a retired Marine from Beaufort; committee chairman Stu Rodman of Hilton Head, who served in the Army; and Rick Caporale of Hilton Head and Jerry Stewart of Sun City Hilton Head -- argued the memorial not only meets the state's broad criteria for a tourism expense, but that the county has a responsibility to kick in for the memorial.

Skeet Von Harten said he wants to "honor the men and women of the armed services ... who fought to give us the right to argue whether to give this $30,000."

Rodman said, "It's not so much about affordability, but whether the council would like to join in a small way in recognizing the veterans who live in this area and the contributions they've made."

Baker, of the veterans coalition, said he didn't attend the meeting Monday because he didn't want to "unduly pressure" the council members into funding the project. He said if the county decides not to put up the $30,000, he'll go back to the public for donations.

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