Friendship Fountain's Future

[Charles Hunter]

News4Jax.com
City Considers Making Changes To Friendship Fountain

POSTED: 4:30 pm EDT August 31, 2006
UPDATED: 8:42 pm EDT August 31, 2006
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The city is paying an engineering firm about $500,000 to decide the future of a 40-year-old Jacksonville landmark.

The company suggested making Jacksonville's Friendship Fountain interactive, meaning the fountain of today might be gone tomorrow.

"If it isn't broke, don't fix it," said one man enjoying the fountain. "Don't tear it down."

Many people relaxing around the fountain on Thursday were surprised to hear the fountain is broken and has been for years. They were even more surprised about the city's plan to build a new fountain, instead of fixing it.

The city said it's too late to fix the Friendship Fountain, which was the highest fountain in the southeast when it was built in 1965. They also said it would cost too much to restore it to its former glory.

"It can't be done at any kind of a reasonable cost," said Mayor's Office spokeswoman Susie Wiles.

Thus, the city sent out a request to redesign the fountain and the entire park.

The winning company said it wants to get more public input on the plan. Its report stated, "Redesign of the fountain for it to be interactive with children will be essential for its total benefit."

The city wants to move Kids Kampus to the site and make Friendship Fountain more kid friendly.

"So, if we can redesign a fountain, keeping with the same tradition of Friendship Fountain, make it more tuned in with the river, more accessible to families and uses, we think that is money well spent," Wiles said.

The city said a rough price tag for the project was about $4 million to replace the fountain and redcostruct the area surrounding it.

The city is expected to have several public hearings to get ideas from people about how to rebuild the fountain.

Why have public hearings if the City has already decided to make it a "dancing waters" attraction?
What is the cost to renovate / rebuild the Fountain to its old self? as compared to the $4Million to demolish it and build something new?
Is this an opportunity to get the MetJax Maritime Museum, next to a Feeble Facsimilie of Friendship Fountain?

[Jim]

Oh God, not again? Kid Kampus belongs at Metro Park....period. There is not enough room at FF for a massive kids playground. Imagine how packed it would be during 4th of July or New Years if people must fight space with a Kids Kampus.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Way to waste more money. *crying* "Oh, we don't have the money for extend the RiverWalk and what money we do have should go to more dire and important things but in the meantime, here's $4 million to rip up a beautiful fountain, build a new and transplant Kids Kampus into an already crowded location with it. Never mind about the much needed Maritime Museum expansion."

[Diane Melendez]

Where is the 4 million coming from? Where did the $500,000 come from so an engineering company could decide what should be done with our historic fountain? The Mayor says is is too expensive to repair, but no one has bothered to give a dollar amount for the repair. Aren't we auditing the JSO to see if we can squeeze their budget due to shortages? Didn't we cut the budget for health programs because we had no money? They always find it don't they when the next crazy idea pops into their heads.

I don't know if demolishing and updating the friendship fountain is what we should be worrying about right now in the first place. I means it's still spraying water. But I guess if hot dog carts sound good to the administration, well children playing or rubber mats shooting water in the air to the tune of 4million must sound better.

Sometimes I wonder how the Mayors office reps keep a straight fact when they start explaining this to the public through the media. They said the fountain is broke. What is more important, a broken fountain or deadly creosote in our waterways? They want to tie the fountain experience to the river. It is money well spent they say. Really??? Why don't we get the creosote and toxins out of the water first so that the river these kids play by is a healthy river and not a health risk?

[Keith726]

Idiots at it again our city deserves better than the current leadership if you can call it that.Spend 5k for someone to decide the future of our fountaine.With all the money they have wasted they could have built up downtown themselves.Hmmm why do we lag behind??because we have fools running the city. I plan to make these hearings. Lord help us.

[thelakelander]

They're going to spend some of the profits from the Landing deal on Friendship Fountain.

The mayor's idea of moving Kids Campus to Friendship Park or turning it into an interactive fountain never died, that was the plan all along. Which makes one wonder why they would spend $500,000 on a consultant to validate what they already wanted? Without a doubt, Friendship Park could use a few tot lots, considering MOSH and the Maritime Museum are there.

However, where does the factor of promoting this city's cultural and architectural heritage? Like it or not, Friendship Fountain is a local landmark and being such, should be restored to its former glory. If they want an interactive kiddie fountain, there's plenty of room between the fountain and the bus drop off circle to accomodate one. Expect to see large crowds at these public meetings, although they may only be dog and pony shows.

They're going to spend some of the profits from the Landing deal on Friendship Fountain.

[Keith726]

Any plans in this area should include expanding the marinetime museum.

[thelakelander]

I agree. The maritime museum should become a central focal point in the park's renovation, along with a restored (not remodeled) Friendship Fountain. Those two things can easily be done, without killing the idea of an interactive fountain or adding kiddie amenities on the park's grounds.

[Diane Melendez]

With all the pressing and in some cases life threatening issues for which this city claims there are no funds they plan to spend 4 million for a kiddie fountain! We already have one in the city, this should not even be on the radar at this point! This is beyond reason and just plain pathetic!

[Diane Melendez]

Lets just start calling the city Peytonville where the "stupidity begins".

VOTE< VOTE<VOTE< get this admistration gone!

[vicupstate]

2, 4, 6, 8

Send Peyton back to GATE !

NOW !!

Why wait on an election, does Florida state law allow for Recall elections?

Yet another example of his "i know what's best, this is what we should do" mindset, rather than actually involving the stakeholders in a decision.

[Bob_Johnson]

Originally Posted by thelakelander

Expect to see large crowds at these public meetings, although they may only be dog and pony shows.

The Administration has mentioned holding Public Input meetings at least a couple of times regarding Friendship Fountain now and I have yet to have heard of a one being held?

In April 2006 The Mayor states in a Publicly posted email "Friendship Fountain will be refurbished, not demolished."

On Aug 31, 2006 Susie Wiles is quoted as saying "It can't be done at any kind of a reasonable cost," by TV 4...
http://www.news4jax.com/news/9771462/detail.html

So far all I have heard is what the City Plans and a vague reference from a Non-Elected member of the Administration that it costs to much to Fix/refurb the Fountain. Where is the facts and documents to back any of these plans up with?

In 2005 there was a city estimate of about $400,000 to repair the pumps for the Fountain, I saw an earlier post in this thread of about $850,000 dollars and in April 2006 a plan was floated for demolishing and replacing Friendship Fountain for 3 million dollars and today it is at $4,000,000.00 ...

I guess if you do nothing long enough you can do whatever you want eventually

-Bob

[Diane Melendez]

Well they are not going to continue with this outrageous behavior. The tide is changing and they have yet to realize it. What a shock it will be to all of them when they are packing up their belongings to leave.

I think it is the bold face lies that bother me the most. This changing direction depending on what day of the week it is. There is no excuse for this, absolutely none. It is not good enough to say now that repairing the fountain is too costly. This should have been figured out before Peyton sent emails saying the fountain would be refurbished.

[thelakelander]

They must be claiming that their in-house workday pow wows are the "public" meetings, since the public is free to attend. Unfortunately, these pow wows are held during the average citizen's working hours and not advertised in the local media. It sounds like its about time for another Public Downtown Meeting like the one Suzanne Jenkins called when all this trash was originally announced back in February.

[Captain Zissou]

We just need to stall for 8 months until this administration is out of the way. There is no way i am going to let them tear down a landmark like that. It just bugs me that they jump through hoops to save the "historic (ugly)" library, but now they're doing whatever they can to destroy something that people actually like.

[Joe]

^ The Haydon Burns and Friendship fountain were actually designed by the same architect in the same general style (as you can see bythe historical photos), though Friendship Park has been mercifully altered over the years to be less ugly.

Ironically, though I opposed many of the redevelopment plans for the Haydon Burns, I do not favor preserving the building, per se. Nor do I really care about preserving the fountain, per se. I would simply like to see a guaranteed plan that it would be replaced by something superior before they are destroyed.

So far, Peyton's vague kiddie pool plan does not meet that criteria.

[BostechComputers]

Maybe Peyton wants to install fountain that will spit oil instead water....at cities expense of course. :-)

[Captain Zissou]

I would be alright with the fountain being replaced by something of similar size and spectacle, but rubber mats with holes won't cut it. I am aware that the two were designed by the same architect, but I like the look of the fountain, other than the hideous pump house.

[Keith726]

Originally Posted by vicupstate

2, 4, 6, 8

Send Peyton back to GATE !

NOW !!

Why wait on an election, does Florida state law allow for Recall elections?

Yet another example of his "i know what's best, this is what we should do" mindset, rather than actually involving the stakeholders in a decision.

Good one thats funny LOL

[02Roadking]

More fom the T/U this Morning]


The 41-year-old Friendship Fountain on the Southbank was billed as the world's largest and tallest when it started up in 1965. It has developed problems over the years ad may have to be replaced.
DON BURK/The T/U
To be or not to be: What will become of landmark Friendship Fountain?
It could be restored or be replaced, and that's what a consultant is working on.
By DAN SCANLAN, The Times-Union
The future of a Jacksonville riverfront landmark is one step closer to being decided after the city hired an engineering consultant to come up with a new look and use for Friendship Fountain and its surroundings.
But it may be too soon to say if the old fountain, down and almost out for the past year with busted pumps and other age-related maladies, will actually be part of whatever plan is drawn up by HNTB. The construction service, engineering and consulting firm was hired a week ago to conduct research and public meetings on the fountain's future, then draw up a plan for the mayor and the City Council to review.
But for now, the 41-year-old Southbank fountain itself is probably part of a future plan that includes a "more user-friendly" park, said Susie Wiles, a spokeswoman for Mayor John Peyton.
"The mayor's intention is the fountain is not going away," Wiles said Friday. "There will be a fountain in that place that is very integrated with the river; that actually works, which the current one doesn't."
Crump Kirby is a member of the Southside Business Men's Club, which has the fountain on its logo. He attended the fountain dedication in 1965 and said it is a historic centerpiece that is too important to go.
"There wasn't another like it anywhere in the country. ... We definitely should leave the fountain intact," Kirby said. "I don't care what they do with the rest of the park. It isn't being used to its fullest for the size of the property there, and it could be."
When the 200-foot-wide fountain was fired up as part of the former Dallas Thomas Park in 1965, it was billed as the world's largest and tallest. Records indicate it could spout 17,000 gallons a minute up to 120 feet in the air. But the city had to pump $1.3 million into the fountain to replace antiquated lights, water jets and a gearbox that broke a few years ago. Added upgrades included computer-controlled light towers, a new pump drive, decorative sidewalks and a repainted basin. But corroded pipes and delays in installing decorative brick followed.
Two of the three original pumps failed in April 2005, leaving weak water jets. When the city learned pump parts were unavailable, it sought proposals to "reinvent" the park, and eight consultants did just that.
Afraid some of those ideas might include demolishing the fountain itself, the Southside Business Men's Club invited Parks, Recreation and Entertainment Director John Culbreth in to discuss the fountain's future in April. At that meeting, Culbreth said the fountain is a "centerpiece of the city" that will not be demolished. And even if HNTB's research finds it would be cheaper to built a new fountain versus continually repairing the current one, the consultant would ask residents for suggestions on what design it should take before the old fountain is removed.
"No decision has been made. That is the very point of this exercise," Wiles said. HNTB's park redevelopment proposal estimates at least three public workshops between October and May, when a master plan would be drawn up for review by city officials. Wiles said there is no cost estimate on a new fountain and park. dan.scanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549

[Charles Hunter]

Is the Mayor's Office back-pedalling from earlier stories that the fountain will be an "interactive" part of Kids Kampus, and the new fountain will cost $4 million? And I discount Mr. Culbreth's April comments that FF will not be demolished, as there has been more recent news from the 4th floor. That they now seem to be stepping back from.
I see this is Fullwood's district, so no help there. But Suzanne's district is just across Main Street from FF - can she lend a hand?