The Sad State of Friendship Fountain

[UrbanRailroader]

I have seen it unfortunately get worse and worse over the past year from my office on the other side of the river. At this point it almost resembles a retention pond fountain most of the time. Am I missing something here or did we not spend $3.1 million in 2010 to replace everything?

When it reopened I was beyond impressed with the lighting and musical elements as we almost had a Jacksonville version of the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas (well....maybe not that nice but nice for ole' Duval  )

I wish the city would do something about it and actually work to maintain it (among other things downtown)

[tufsu1]

It is indeed sad - it is as if this administration doesn't care at all about it

[blizz01]

Right after they replace the neon lighting on the Acosta.....

[KenFSU]

Am I missing something here or did we not spend $3.1 million in 2010 to replace everything?

It's complicated.

Yes. the city did in fact spend $3.1 million to restore Friendship Fountain in 2010.

More specifically, the 2010 money was primarily spent on replacing the pumps, adding new pipes, turning the area surrounding Friendship Fountain into a new park, and installing the new electrical controls, computer system, speakers, and lighting for the Bellagio-style fountain show that you reference.

Fast forward to 2018, and there's good news, bad news, unacceptable news, and hopeful news.

The good news is, with the exception of the LED lights within the fountain, all of the 2010 additions are in very good condition, with components having an expected lifespan of 30-50 more years. The expensive audio system and the computers controlling the music and lights are 100% fine.

The bad news is, Friendship Fountain needs $1 million in additional repairs to return it to its 2010 glory. Around $350,000 of that is purely structural wear and tear to the fountain and pump house (concrete repair, recoating the fountain interior, resealing joints, etc). $110,000 is mechanical (nozzles, AC unit and exhaust fan for the pump house, etc.). $300,000 is electrical (lighting and control). And $185,000 is architectural (repairs to the park).

The unacceptable news is that, while the city has done a good job keeping up with the surrounding park, there's a lot of evidence that the city has done a really crappy job maintaining Friendship Fountain itself.

The reason that all the nozzles and fixtures are so heavily corroded, and the reason that the fountain looks like a gross retention pond full of algae and mildew, is because the water quality is really shitty. Rather than routinely testing the chlorine levels and balancing the chemicals as needed, we're just dumping chemicals into the fountain at set intervals. This causes massive spikes and valleys in the chlorine levels, which in turn leads to corrosion, pitting, and deterioration of the components.

The biggest failure from the 2010 work comes from the lights within the fountain. Roughly 60% of the lights installed within the fountain in 2010 are no longer operational. Worse, the parts are now obsolete and can't be easily replaced, so the entire lighting system will need to be replaced at around $105,000. Poor water maintenance is a contributing factor in these fixtures failing, taking in water, and ultimately shorting out.

Even worse, per a recent study, we might be lucky that only $1 million in repairs are needed, as the most expensive components of the fountain aren't being properly serviced:



All that said, there's a plan in place to restore Friendship Fountain to 2010 levels, with added enhancements to the surrounding park to make it more interactive.

And, from what I understand, the working plan is to basically install a glorified aquarium filter in the pump house to idiot-proof the maintenance of water quality.

It sucks that the fountain has been reduced to a trickle, but compared to the damage that could be done by running it full blast, it's good that we don't push it too hard until it's fully repaired.

Hopefully, by the time it's back online, there are actual maintenance dollars allocated beyond the ribbon-cutting to prevent this from happening again.

[jaxnyc79]

Good grief: from the state of the Landing to the Berkman Carcass to Friendship Fountain, sounds like some very basic problems of resource coordination and upkeep.  Not a good look Jax and not a way to build downtown's brand no matter how many incentives have been doled out.
Have been filed out

[Captain Zissou]

Good grief: from the state of the Landing to the Berkman Carcass to Friendship Fountain, sounds like some very basic problems of resource coordination and upkeep.  Not a good look Jax and not a way to build downtown's brand no matter how many incentives have been doled out.
Have been filed out

I get anxiety every time someone proposes a new park because I know it's just a matter of time it falls into disrepair due to lack of maintenance.  Jacksonville is full of half @$$ed parks that are now overgrown or covered in trash.  I would rather us cut the number of parks down to a number that we are able to maintain.  Having just come back from San Francisco, they have fewer parks but they are kept pristine.  That is more impactful than a greater number of mediocre parks.

[Snaketoz]

In it's history, Jacksonville has always had problems with routine maintenance on many of it's assets.  Be it parks, river walks, fountains, or infrastructure.  They build something, let it deteriorate, then abandon it or rebuild.  Anyone who has ever owned a swimming pool knows how critical and easy is to check the ph and chorine levels in a pool.  Anyone who has owned a dock or deck knows it's important to fasten the decking to keep up with nature.  The city will cite and fine landowners for overgrown property, yet allow their property to decay.  It's all about leadership.  We have department heads who are political.  Instead of maintenance we spend much more on complete rebuilds.  We balk at adding/keeping well led maintenance staff and instead hire consultants and politically connected contractors.  Things never change.

[fieldafm]

Good thing the stewards for the current state of affairs at Friendship Fountain (and accompanying marina and River City Brewing Company.. both of which are falling into the river) are looking to take over the Landing 

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Coming from someone who works with COJ Parks all year, I can tell you that the department is stretched to the max and one hand never seems to know what the other is doing.  And I'm all for volunteer orgs to handle basic park maintenance, but most of us are completely unable to cover the cost of major infrastructure repairs and replacements.

Unless it's a pet project of a higher ranking official, a council member or comes with private financing from a Weaver or a Pajcic, I wouldn't hold your breath.

[KenFSU]

I'm all for volunteer orgs to handle basic park maintenance, but most of us are completely unable to cover the cost of major infrastructure repairs and replacements.

See: Memorial Park.

100 years old, an Olmsted original, and for my money, the crown jewel of our public parks in Jacksonville.

10 months after Irma, we still have bicycle racks in place of the damaged railing.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

I'm all for volunteer orgs to handle basic park maintenance, but most of us are completely unable to cover the cost of major infrastructure repairs and replacements.

See: Memorial Park.

100 years old, an Olmsted original, and for my money, the crown jewel of our public parks in Jacksonville.

10 months after Irma, we still have bicycle racks in place of the damaged railing.

But everytime I'm in the building, they're talking about getting this NEW park online here and this NEW park online there.  Since I've been the director (about 6 years), things have progressively gone downhill with regards to response.   I've been trying to get a damaged roof replaced for over 2 years.  Still trying to get new lights for over 5 years.  Still dealing with hurricane Matthew damage.  Still dealing with an unlit parking lot. 

And we've had the 'lease' on the park for over 20 years, so it's not like we're a NEW group that's going to bail.

[vicupstate]

Everything being described regarding park maintenance or the lack thereof, is a by-product of years of not adequately funding the basic, core functions of government. JAX spends a very low amount on park maintenance and upkeep and it shows. Low taxes, big giveaways to businesses and developers, and no private involvement all lead to a weak park system, among other things.     

[Captain Zissou]

Everything being described regarding park maintenance or the lack thereof, is a by-product of years of not adequately funding the basic, core functions of government. JAX spends a very low amount on park maintenance and upkeep and it shows. Low taxes, big giveaways to businesses and developers, and no private involvement all lead to a weak park system, among other things.     

I'm willing to spend some extra money if it means a good park system, but I think it will be more of what NRW describes if they have more money.  The potential elevated park instead of the skyway is one of the worst ideas I've ever heard, but they'd rather spend millions on that than maintain what they have.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

With a measly $2M, they could bring another 6-8 people on staff for 5 years and spread the support over the city.  I don't know the size of the entire department, but the guys that I talk to the most tell me about parks (just like mine) that have similar issues (just like mine) that they are in charge of handling across the entire city.  This doesn't include the 200 (don't quote me) or so that don't have an association actively managing the space.

Couple that with the private contractors for cleaning, maintenance, mowing, etc... and minimal accountability due to not enough staff to manage the private contracts and what little budget they have is being completely wasted.

[Keith-N-Jax]

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!