TV-4 News Breaks the Story

Originally Posted: April 11 200

The story can be viewed here:
http://www.news4jax.com/video/8613638/detail.html?taf=jax

It is also linked from the News area of the TV-4 Website, News4Jax.com:
http://www.news4jax.com/news/index.html

Thanks to Jim Piggott for bringing this to Light.  I have a feeling the City would just have soon that no one paid any attention until they started demolition at which time it would have been too late.

Contact your Local City Council members, the Mayor and other news outlets and let them know that demolition of a landmark such as Friendship Fountain without any public input is not the government we want in place.

Mayor Peyton
City Council Contact Information

Thanks,
Bob Johnson

Originally Posted April 12, 2006

I have started sending the following email to the mayor and members of City Council...

Dear  Mayor,

I am writing this to express my opposition to the demolition of
Friendship Fountain.

I am Bob Johnson, the Fan, as TV-4 portrayed me, of Friendship Fountain.

I am also the webmaster of JaxFountain.com which has been an
unofficial fan site for Friendship Fountain and was originally started
to try and get the hours of operation improved.

What i find so appalling in this current crisis at the Fountain is the
apparent attempt by the City to quietly make the Fountain go away.  As
far as i know there has been no public discussion regarding this, nor
any City council involvement, at least none reported.

I wouldn't even be aware of this if Jim Piggott of TV-4 had not
contacted me regarding a Project note he somehow came into the
possesion of.  The actual interview and story Jim presented on TV-4
can be viewed here:
http://www.news4jax.com/video/8613638/detail.html?taf=jax

I think it is obvious that i would not be in favor of Demolishing the
Fountain and to the best of my knowledge, the current problem is with
the pumps themselves which I would think that after the money that has
been spent on the new nozzles, piping and interior of the Fountain
itself, would be worthwhile in finding replacement pumps and watching
Friendship Fountain pump away for another 40 years.

Friendship Fountain should be considered a landmark of the
Jacksonville Downtown and destroying it should be about the last
possible move the City should take.

You can find related posts at the following links:
http://metro.e-mpire.com/forums/showthread.php?p=23015#post23015
http://jaxfountain.com/cgi-bin....f=1;t=5
http://jaxfountain.com/cgi-bin....f=3;t=1

I would appreciate any comment on this situation you can provide...

Bob Johnson
My Address
Jacksonville, FL 32205
My Phone Number

--
JaxFountain.com

I am sending these individually so as not to appear to be spamming and with the hope that I will receive responses...

-Bob

Originally Posted April 12, 2006

Sharon Copeland has replied to my email with indications she was forwarding it on to the Mayors office and to the Park Director and indicating she was under the impression that the Fountain was to be renovated not demolished.

Suzanne Jenkins replied indicating that she would NOT support the demolition of the Fountain.

Art Shad called me and while he may see some other options for the Fountain was very receptive to ensuring that no action was taken until a full plan was in place and would bring this issue up in Committee meetings...

It sure would be nice if the Times Union and TV-12 would provide some coverage of this story to ensure the word was spread far and wide...  Just have to wonder?

-Bob

Originally Posted April 13, 2006

The first breath of a mention in today's Times Union...

A Rant I submitted on Tuesday...
http://www.jacksonville.com/communi....2.shtml

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Friendship Fountain

Friendship Fountain

It appears that the City of Jax Parks and Recreation Department has plans already in progress to completely demolish Friendship Fountain and replace it with a yet to be determined Park possibly including a kids water feature.

Where has the public hearings or discussion regarding Friendship Fountain. This is a Jacksonville landmark, a center point to our city for the last 41 years and for a city department to just decide that it should be ripped out of the ground without any concern for what the citizens of Jacksonville may want or think is irresponsible at best and shows a complete lack of regard for Democratic representation.

The Parks Dept Director has stated that regardless of what replaces the Fountain people will, sooner or later, gravitate to it and frequent it. Now that is solid planning for the replacement of a City Landmark isn't it?

Is this to be Mayor Peyton's legacy, the Mayor that destroyed what is arguably one of the most visible and identifying aspects of Jacksonville's Downtown?

-Bob

Originally Posted April 14, 2006

I just received the following email...

From: John Peyton <JPeyton@coj.net>   
To: Bob Johnson <Support@jaxfountain.com>
Date: Apr 14, 2006 4:42 PM
Subject: Re: Demolition of Friendship Fountain?

Dear Mr. Johnson:
 
Thank you for taking the time to write to weigh in on the city's plans for the future of Friendship Fountain Park.  As part of my vision for downtown, the city's Department of Parks, Recreation, Entertainment and Conservation will oversee the master planning process for the refurbishing of Friendship Fountain Park. One of the goals of the master plan is to re-configure the fountain to encourage pedestrian traffic, creating a park that is more interactive and multi-dimensional, and will be an attraction for visitors.   Friendship Fountain will be refurbished, not demolished.
 
Citizen input will play a major role in the planning process, and I welcome feedback from the community.  Currently, we are requesting proposals from architectural/engineering firms to conduct the master planning process. Master planning is anticipated to begin later this year.  If you are interested in participating in the stakeholder discussions, please contact Phil Bruce at 904-630-3586 or at bruce@coj.net.
 
Thanks again for writing.  I appreciate your input about this important Jacksonville monument.
 
Sincerely,
John Peyton

I wrote back thanking the Mayor for his clarification and requested permission (yes I know all city officials email are public, however it is just a nice thing to do ) and he replied within a few minutes saying certainly.

Now I am not naive enough to believe that this means the Fountain is completely safe from major alterations however it does at least indicate that the Mayor's office is aware of the attention this has drawn which is a good first step...

Now the goal IMHO would be to figure out a realistic plan that would retain the Fountain Proper in a fully functioning state and improve the surrounding park area to make it more "Green" and attractive and conductive to more activities.

-Bob

- It ain't over but a step has been taken... -