Tuesday, May 21, 2013

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New park fountain on hold until spring

MONMOUTH -- A new fountain and splash pad that were to be erected in Main Street Park before the end of the year won't be built until next spring.

Craig Coleman

October 09, 2012

MONMOUTH -- A new fountain and splash pad that were to be erected in Main Street Park before the end of the year won't be built until next spring.

The price tag for the project, meanwhile, has risen another $40,000 -- putting the expected cost somewhere around $184,000.

"It's important to the community and in our case we want to do this right," City Manager Scott McClure said of the delay and the cost. "We wanted something attractive that will bring people out on warm days."

Monmouth officials have discussed since 2011 replacing the existing, nearly 70-year-old fountain in the park.

The city is in the midst of its streetscape enhancement of portions of Main Street. The original hope was that a new fountain would be ready at about the same time.

Instead, the fountain project will be bid out in the coming weeks, with a goal of having it finished by April 2013, McClure said.

Officials settled on a fountain design last summer that stands 12 feet tall and includes a splash pad that occupies roughly the same footprint.

Earlier this year, however, councilors expressed an interest in lighting and art being incorporated into its appearance to make it a centerpiece for the park when the water wasn't flowing.

Devin Laurence Field of Portland, who does public sculptures, came up with a stainless-steel sculpture concept that will have lighting accents. City Council approved the design on Sept. 18. Those additions will bump the cost an additional $40,000.

Researching and creating the additional components pushed back the completion date, and at this point "it's too late in the year," McClure said.

"The weather is the issue and once we got started it could change and that's not the best thing for doing concrete work."

The fountain will be paid for with parks and recreation system development charges and urban renewal district funds. When the fountain replacement idea cropped up, the city had estimated it might cost $125,000 to $150,000. McClure said those may have been low projections based on the opinions of architects involved in the process.

"If this fountain lasts as long as the last one, the additional dollars over time are actually pretty small," said Councilor John Carey, noting the artwork also passed muster with two other city boards. "If you can make it twice as nice just adding 25 percent, there's a cost benefit to me."

Some residents have expressed dismay over the old fountain being replaced. There will be efforts to preserve it, McClure said.

"What we're hoping to do is relocate the main bowl and pedestal to another part of the park," he said.