Lincoln parks officials will keep the iconic Bicentennial Cascade Fountain but repair efforts include plans to remake a plaza area with more seating and space to honor teachers.
Renovation plans for the fountain at 27th Street and Capitol Parkway — also known as the Retired Teachers Fountain — include replacing dilapidated pipes and adding lighting, as well as reducing the size of the basin, putting in a shaded seating area, a terraced seating wall and panels to recognize teachers.
The plans will be considered by the city's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Thursday and come after the majority of the 7,600 people who took an online survey about the fountain sent a message for parks officials.
"Loud and clear, they said, 'We love that fountain,'" Lincoln Parks Foundation Executive Director Maggie Stuckey said. "Fix it, but don't touch the fountain."
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For the last several years, the fountain, built in 1978 by city staff without money set aside for upkeep, has been at risk of pipe failures because of its aging, corroded system.
There are leaks in the fountain and its surrounding basin, the lighting doesn't work and the water needs to be manually treated, according to parks officials.
"We are one broken pipe away from this not operating,” Parks and Rec Director Lynn Johnson said.
Rather than just making the repairs, parks officials asked people to weigh in on the fountain and possible replacement or renovation concepts.
The five options included repairing the fountain, repairing it and reducing the basin size to make way for a plaza, adding a splash pad nearby, replacing the fountain with a splash pad or replacing the fountain with a conservatory.
The $1.6 million plaza option won out, they said.
Plans for the fountain include downsizing the basin to make room for a plaza that would feature trees, overhead cafe lights and movable seating.
On the 27th Street side of the area, crews would make grade improvements to put in seating using terraced steps.
And north and east of the plaza, panels would allow donors to recognize teachers. The fountain was originally dedicated to the state's retired teachers, who helped pay for it with recipe book sales and a quilt raffle.
The fountain's body would remain but its water-circulation system would be upgraded to increase the water's splash and the water quality, according to plans.
The $1.6 million estimate includes an endowment for maintenance.
If approved as expected, construction could begin by spring of 2021 and finish by that fall.
The Lincoln Parks Foundation voted to use $500,000 of the $1 million challenge grant funds the city gave to the foundation in 2018 for major parks renovation projects.
Susan Larson Rodenburg, campaign organizer, said they hope to finish fundraising by this summer.
Parks officials say the project has a unique and different donor base than the new $9 million South Haymarket Park that they are also raising funds for. That project has an economic development aspect to it, Johnson said.
"This is really the only thing in the state that recognizes teachers or retired teachers," Larson Rodenburg said.
Project officials have received support from representatives of the Nebraska State Education Association, NSEA-Retired, Nebraska Association of Retired School Personnel, Nebraska Council of School Administrators, Lincoln Association of Retired School Personnel, Lincoln Public Schools Foundation and Lincoln Education Association.
Last year, repairs delayed the operating season for the fountain, which made it without any major breakdowns, said J.J. Yost, planning and facilities manager for Parks and Rec.
"We expect to be able to turn it on next spring, and keep our fingers crossed we make it through the season," he said.