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A portion of a park that is home to a giant white cross has been transferred from the city of Neosho to a nonprofit corporation called the Save Our Heritage Foundation.
In May, a national association of atheists and agnostics requested that the cross be removed after a Neosho resident complained its location in a public park violated the Constitution.
Soon after, the city announced that the cross would remain at Big Spring Park, where it has been displayed since April 1930.
Tuesday, Neosho City Council voted to transfer ownership of a portion of Big Spring Park to the nonprofit, according to a news release from the city.
The Save Our Heritage Foundation was formed Aug. 18, according to the Missouri Secretary of State's website. It is registered to Richard D. Davidson of Neosho, a councilman.
The Joplin Globe reports that Davidson said the purpose is to maintain and protect the historical value of the cross and other culturally significant properties while removing a possible legal conflict.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, the Wisconsin-based group that requested the removal of the cross, expressed "guarded optimism" in a news release while raising some questions about the transfer.
"We are pleased the city is moving in the right direction," said Freedom From Religion Foundation Legal Director Rebecca Markert in a statement. "But there are serious issues with these type (sic) of land transfers."
According to the release, Markert sent a letter to Neosho on Friday expressing concern that if the transfer was "handled with intent to 'save the cross' ... (it) may be 'a legally problematic sham remedy.'"
The release asks if the city sold or gave away the land. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is also seeking assurance that the divested parcel containing the cross will be fenced off and feature disclaimer signage.
"Without fences and disclaimers, the transfer does not relieve the continued perception of government endorsement," the release said.
The nonprofit has submitted requests for information from Neosho, the release said.
Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said in the news release, “Courts have uniformly held that governmental displays of Latin crosses — the principal symbol of Christianity around the world — are an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. They have no secular purpose and when placed on public property they send an unambiguous message that Christians are insiders and non-Christians are unfavored outsiders. The United States is a secular republic, not a ‘Christian nation.’"
In May, the city of Neosho announced that it would "not remove the cross or take any other actions which in any way compromises the long standing history of our City."
The recent decision by council to transfer the land containing the cross acknowledges that in other places, courts have ordered crosses on public land to be removed, the city's news release said.
"The Neosho City Council, after a full legal review was conducted, determined that the costs of sustaining the defense of a lawsuit based on the placement of the Cross did not outweigh the potential success of defending such a suit."
The transfer also satisfies "the overwhelming desires of our citizenry to not relocate the Big Spring Park Cross," according to the release.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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