by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Though most of the city has recovered from the worst blackout in several decades, Friendship Fountain on the Southbank is still inoperative thanks to the April 29 power surge that crippled all of Jacksonville and severely damaged the fountain’s computer-run water and lighting systems.
A year ago an idle Friendship Fountain might not have been a big deal. But last summer the Southbank landmark received about $1.5 million in renovations, including a state-of-the-art computer system that regulates the water flow and the lights at night.
“It was a refurbishment of the entire system,” said Lynn Westbrook, director of Public Works. “There were voids underneath that needed to be filled and the pump was old. Nothing major had been done since it was built.”
The blackout fried the new system and left the fountain little more than a collection pond for the recent downpours.
“With the power going on and off, all those spikes caused some damage to the computer system,” said Westbrook.
The City’s Parks, Recreation & Entertainment Department controls the fountain and has asked for $26,000 to repair the fountain’s computer system. At the time of the blackout and in subsequent days, JEA officials said the odds of another such electrical disaster are right up there with winning the lottery. That kind of confidence makes spending another $26,000 more sensible, considering what was spent last summer.
Westbrook said he expects the City’s Awards Committee to approve the funding and then it’s just a matter of time.
“At the earliest it will be two, but it will probably be more like three weeks,” said Westbrook of how long it will take before the fountain is operating again. “The only thing that’s stopping them is the parts are on order. Once they come, that will dictate how long until the fountain is repaired.”
The fountain was built in 1965 and dedicated by former Mayor Lou Ritter in late November or early December (Ritter can’t remember the exact date) and was part of Dallas Thomas Park. That name didn’t last long. In 1966, Thomas was indicted on a series of charges, including income tax evasion and fraud. The park and fountain were renamed Friendship Fountain in 1966.