The Sad State of Friendship Fountain

[Tacachale]

FWIW The Southbank Riverwalk seems to stay pretty busy.  I persoanlly dont care as much about the flashy lights and music, just make the fountain shoot water like it's supposed to.

Yeah, whenever I'm down there, there are always folks down at Friendship Fountain and Riverwalk. If it's something people already use, we may as well maintain and improve it.

[acme54321]

FWIW The Southbank Riverwalk seems to stay pretty busy.  I persoanlly dont care as much about the flashy lights and music, just make the fountain shoot water like it's supposed to.

Yeah, whenever I'm down there, there are always folks down at Friendship Fountain and Riverwalk. If it's something people already use, we may as well maintain and improve it.

Yeah we go down there multiple times a week.

[Kerry]

Lol - 'game changer'.  For what it's worth - I HATE that phrase.  It implies that the 'game' is to maintain the status quo, when the City should always be looking to improve.

I assume you know I was joking? I, too, hate that term. It's like we need to just throw a bunch of money on a big thing and it will revitalize downtown.

I figured you were joking.  Jax doesn't have a problem coming up with "game changer" ideas or plans.  We have trouble actually doing them.  Just like the current crop of "great ideas are going to be made public soon" comments.  Every wheel has to be reinvented every damn time.  For once couldn't the next great idea be how to implement one of the existing great ideas already sitting on the shelf - or heck, just do something simple to create some momentum and get something in the Win column.  for example, a bike share program could be implemented at a low relative cost in 3 months.

[Charles Hunter]

About putting a fountain in the new "Court House Bay" - isn't it supposed to be a marina, or at least have docking around the edges?  A big-ol' fountain doesn't seem compatible with docking boats.

[Kerry]

About putting a fountain in the new "Court House Bay" - isn't it supposed to be a marina, or at least have docking around the edges?  A big-ol' fountain doesn't seem compatible with docking boats.

Who would ever seen it anyhow?  it is between a parking garage, an abandoned building, and a blank hotel wall.  There isn't even green space for the homeless to enjoy it.

[Downtown Osprey]

Lol - 'game changer'.  For what it's worth - I HATE that phrase.  It implies that the 'game' is to maintain the status quo, when the City should always be looking to improve.

I assume you know I was joking? I, too, hate that term. It's like we need to just throw a bunch of money on a big thing and it will revitalize downtown.

I figured you were joking.  Jax doesn't have a problem coming up with "game changer" ideas or plans.  We have trouble actually doing them.  Just like the current crop of "great ideas are going to be made public soon" comments.  Every wheel has to be reinvented every damn time.  For once couldn't the next great idea be how to implement one of the existing great ideas already sitting on the shelf - or heck, just do something simple to create some momentum and get something in the Win column.  for example, a bike share program could be implemented at a low relative cost in 3 months.

I would argue we are in the process of doing a lot of these things already, it just doesn't get the love or news coverage it deserves. The Trio, FSCJ's new culinary program, Lavilla redevelopment and infill, UNF and JU presence downtown are all huge wins for the actual core of downtown. While we all argue about the Shipyards, the District, blah blah, there are a ton of great wins already in motion.

[Kerry]

The Trio is a good one - thanks for the reminder.

I wish the Times-Union would spend more effort on downtown reporting instead of just repackaging NYT, Washington Post, and AP stories about how much Trump sucks.

Here is the Live Chat transcript from last Friday in the OKC paper.  I would kill for something similar here.

https://newsok.com/article/5597463/okc-central-chat-with-steve-lackmeyer

Tommy Biggs said:
Anything OKC has that Austin is lacking or needs?

Steve Lackmeyer replied:
In all seriousness, hard to believe if I didn't see and hear and observe this directly.... a leadership that supports and embraces urban density. What is happening in downtown Austin is in spite of its leadership!

Sounds like Jax.

[mtraininjax]

Follow the TU reporters on Twitter, they have much better insight with 280 characters than what you read daily in the TU.

[KenFSU]

The Trio is a good one - thanks for the reminder.

I wish the Times-Union would spend more effort on downtown reporting instead of just repackaging NYT, Washington Post, and AP stories about how much Trump sucks.

1) Check out J Magazine, published by the T-U. Though I don't agree with every individual contribution, it's a really great downtown-centric quarterly.

2) Alternate solution. If Donald Trump wasn't such a horrible human being all the time, the T-U would have to cover something else 

3) Remember how spectacular the fountain was for that brief period in 2013 when it was fully restored? A new addition to the fountain itself is being discussed that would make it even more spectacular (if properly maintained).

[Kerry]

So can we find a way to blame Khan and the Jaguars? I mean it's because of them downtown is in the state it Is!

Well, they do suck up a large portion of the bed tax which is supposed to go to things like Friendship Fountain also.

[Bativac]

3) Remember how spectacular the fountain was for that brief period in 2013 when it was fully restored? A new addition to the fountain itself is being discussed that would make it even more spectacular (if properly maintained).

"if properly maintained" .....LOL

The fountain was incredible when it was restored. I remember taking out of town guests there and we would marvel at it.

I think all of us know how "properly maintained" any additions to the fountain would be

[Adam White]

3) Remember how spectacular the fountain was for that brief period in 2013 when it was fully restored? A new addition to the fountain itself is being discussed that would make it even more spectacular (if properly maintained).

The fountain was incredible when it was restored. I remember taking out of town guests there and we would marvel at it.

Wow. Sounds like quite a night out.

[fieldafm]

So can we find a way to blame Khan and the Jaguars? I mean it's because of them downtown is in the state it Is!

Well, they do suck up a large portion of the bed tax which is supposed to go to things like Friendship Fountain also.

Sorry but that's incorrect. Of the 6% bed tax in Duval: 2% is dedicated towards capital improvement/maintenance on sports facilities, 2% is dedicated to bond debt repayment for prior sports facilities capital improvements and 2% goes towards tourism-related efforts (something like 3/4 of which funds Visit Jacksonville).  Other Florida counties have a dedicated slice of the bed tax's pie going towards parks (those counties like say Walton or Sarasota also don't have 73,000 seat stadiums, 5,000 seat indoor/outdoor amphitheatres and 15,000 seat arenas)... but Duval does not. As the Duval bed tax is constructed (by ordinance), your favourite punching bag Khan is not 'stealing' money from Friendship Fountain.

[Steve]

Thanks for the numbers. I knew that Bed Tax couldn't go to park land but didn't remember the exact breakdown

That said, I wouldn't opposed for a small addition to the Bed Tax to go to park land, but that's another story.

[Kerry]

So can we find a way to blame Khan and the Jaguars? I mean it's because of them downtown is in the state it Is!

Well, they do suck up a large portion of the bed tax which is supposed to go to things like Friendship Fountain also.

Sorry but that's incorrect. Of the 6% bed tax in Duval: 2% is dedicated towards capital improvement/maintenance on sports facilities, 2% is dedicated to bond debt repayment for prior sports facilities capital improvements and 2% goes towards tourism-related efforts (something like 3/4 of which funds Visit Jacksonville).  Other Florida counties have a dedicated slice of the bed tax's pie going towards parks (those counties like say Walton or Sarasota also don't have 73,000 seat stadiums, 5,000 seat indoor/outdoor amphitheatres and 15,000 seat arenas)... but Duval does not. As the Duval bed tax is constructed (by ordinance), your favourite punching bag Khan is not 'stealing' money from Friendship Fountain.

Friendship Fountain IS a tourist attraction.  It is why it was built and is identified by the City as a tourist attraction, along with the entire Southbank Riverwalk I might add.