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They hate to do it - tear down the roundabout fountain - but Clearwater leaders seek bids to do just that.
By JENNIFER FARRELL, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 20, 2002
CLEARWATER -- Mocked as the world's highest-priced birdbath and scorned as a waste of precious drinking water, the $2.1-million fountain at the center of the Clearwater Beach roundabout soon will be reduced to rubble.
Citing annual maintenance costs of $231,720 and a bulky design that blocked visibility in the accident-prone traffic circle, Clearwater city commissioners agreed last year that the fountain must go.
Tonight, they are expected to kick-start demolition, giving their staff formal approval to solicit bids for the job.
Tearing down the fountain, which is 20 feet tall and 180 feet across at its widest point, is expected to cost between $150,000 and $175,000 and will be finished this fall, said City Engineer Mike Quillen.
It has not been decided what precisely will replace the fountain, although officials have talked about some kind of public art. Initial plans call for leaving intact a network of underground pipes on the chance that future designs might include some sort of water component, maybe a reflecting pool.
In the short term, sod will take the fountain's place and the project will be financed with money left over from the original construction budget, Quillen said. City officials say they will rely on public opinion before deciding what sort of art may be installed.
For almost a year, the fountain has been dry, identified as a senseless tap on water resources during the region's persistent drought.
And despite agreement on the need for demolition, many people regret the fate of a fountain that lent grandeur to the Clearwater Beach entrance.
"I hate to demolish something that so much went into," said Commissioner Bill Jonson, recalling the city's substantial investment in time and money. "You really hate to just walk away from that."
But leaving the fountain in place, he said, would compound a mistake.
And now that it's idle, the fountain's structure is useless.
"It looks like a big white elephant, so it's coming down," said City Manager Bill Horne.
The thing is: Even critics agree the fountain used to be an imposing sight.
"It was gorgeous," Jonson said. "I love fountains."
Quillen remembers the white light that illuminated the water stream, which stretched 40 feet above ground level.
"It took up your whole view; it just looked huge," he said. "It was awesome when it was running really right."
Horne agreed.
"You come over the bridge and you see this jet of water going high in the air," he said. "I mean, aesthetically, it just seemed to be the perfect entry feature for coming into Clearwater Beach."
But in addition to cost and environmental concerns, there was also the problem of wind-driven spray that sometimes coated windshields and doused convertibles.
That was the main reason Horne said the possibility of using reclaimed water as a substitute was rejected.
"People don't want reclaimed water to get on their cars, get on them," he said.
Furthermore, city officials said reclaimed water could lead to steeper maintenance costs because the highly chlorinated water would cause the fountain's metal pumps to rust more quickly, requiring their eventual replacement at a cost of up to $200,000.
Salvaging the fountain by toning down the jets, removing the outer ring and planting sod would have cost $506,000, said Quillen.
Horne said the city will take time to consider the full implications of any design proposals. He blamed haste for unforeseen glitches in the roundabout, a project fast-tracked by his predecessor, Mike Roberto.
"Had the project moved a little slower, we might have been able to tease out some of the problems with its construction," said Horne.
Commissioners have said they will insist on public comment in the future.
Earlier this year, they experienced sticker shock from a proposal to install a $375,000 metal sculpture of wading shorebirds in the roundabout's center.
The city already tabulates the beach entryway's cost at about $9.3-million, plus about $2-million to pay to borrow the money that was used to build it.
Shelling out much more money for art doesn't make sense, commissioners say.
Clearwater Beach Association president David MacNamee supports the new push for public comment.
"When they did this, it was, "Trust me, we know what we're doing,' " he said. "I think it would behoove the city greatly to make sure they have everybody behind them when they decide what goes in the center."
-- Jennifer Farrell can be reached at 445-4160 or farrell@sptimes.com.