Vernal’s iconic dinosaur statue has been a huge landmark for the city for more than 50 years and now a fundraising campaign is underway to save and repair it.
The “T-Rex” statue was first designed and built by George Millecam in 1969 outside of his local business, the Dine-A-Ville motel. Since then, the statue has fallen into disrepair according to the Vernal City website, saying it needs to be resurfaced and painted.
The city recently opened a survey focusing on what should be done with the dinosaur statue and says that most of the respondents want to repair the iconic dinosaur. With both the public having a willingness to donate to the effort and the city council supporting their decision, “Project Save T-Rex” was launched.
A GoFundMe page was set up last week for the project in order to raise the necessary funds needed for restoration with the end goal being $30,000. After just four days, more than $10,000 has already been raised.
Funds from the GoFundMe page will go to Charitable Friends of Ashley Valley, a registered nonprofit organization. The page also says that if donations exceed the goal, remaining funds will be used for landscaping on T-Rex’s island and for improved safety measures.
