City to fix downtown fountain — again

Mayor wants to give target of repeated damage another chance to flow

Julie Ann Grimm | The New Mexican

10/17/2008 - 10/18/08

Water will again splash in a downtown fountain this fall following a city plan to spend more money for repairs.

The fountain on the corner of Water Street and Don Gaspar Avenue has been dry more than it has been wet in recent years, but because a request from Mayor David Coss, city workers are trying to get it flowing again soon.

Coss, who is due back Sunday from a trip to China, said at a City Council meeting last month that he wanted to see the fountain run for at least a few days this year before cold weather made it impossible.

Fountainhead Rock Place, which includes a seating area, was one of the first city-funded public art projects. Thomas Lipps installed it with the help of two other stonemasons beginning in 1987, and it flowed during warm weather until the summer of 2002. That year, the city experienced a drought and put restrictions on decorative water use such as the fountain.

The city turned on the fountain for one event in 2004, and then Lipps repaired and replaced rocks in 2005 so the city could crank it up again just in time for what turned out to be a rowdy summer. The water's flow was short-lived, according to city Parking Division Director Bill Hon, who manages the fountain because of its proximity to a city parking lot.

That year, to regularly replace pumps and repair plumbing, he spent about $6,000.

"We have ongoing problems with the fountain. It seems to attract a lot of youth activity and those who think it is really fun and wholesome to put food dye, Tide, bubbles, whatever you can think of, in the fountain that makes a froth," he said.

The tradition of bubbling the fountain, however, causes expense because it burns out the pumps, he said. But since the city governing body has made the request, Hon and his colleagues in the Parks Division plan to revive the fountain at least one more time. He's also investigating the possible purchase of a chemical additive that reduces damage from bubbles.

Hon had no estimate of the cost to get the fountain running this time. Whatever it is, area business owners seem to favor the expense. "I like the water," said Kathleen Savage, who has run Santa Fe Hemp on Water Street for about 10 years. "I like the sound of it, and I really would like to see the water on again."

Savage said her employees started calling the place "punk rock" a few years ago because spikey-haired kids made it a regular hangout. Before that, it was already a popular spot for hippie types selling sage or other odd goods. Years ago, she said, her mother told her the fountain was frequently used by the homeless for clothes washing.

"It really is a magnet for a certain crowd," she said.

Others say it's also an amenity for tourists who stop and sit, then wander into nearby shops or restaurants.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.