Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Millennium Plaza Fountain topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Park board votes to demolish Millennium Plaza fountain after engineering assessment
Summary
The board accepted an engineering assessment and then voted to demolish the Millennium Plaza fountain, citing structural deterioration and high repair costs; members will seek additional appropriation from the city to cover demolition.
The Michigan City Parks and Recreation Board voted March 5 to demolish the Millennium Plaza fountain after receiving an engineering assessment that found extensive structural deterioration and high projected costs to restore the feature.
Park staff presented assessments from Haas & Associates and a commercial fountain company that estimated demolition costs at roughly $137,000 and restoration costs beginning in the mid-hundreds of thousands of dollars. Staff added an $88,000 contingency to cover unknown underground infrastructure costs; staff said a conservative restoration estimate could exceed $550,000 and that a full restoration might reach as much as $700,000 when underground utilities and long-term operating costs were included.
Park staff described multiple safety and operational problems: a nonfunctional filtration system that requires daily manual refilling, broken wind sensors, vandalized underground lighting, corroding pump-house equipment caused by poor ventilation, cracked capstones, exposed reinforcing steel and clogged drain lines. Staff said annual operating costs for a restored fountain would be about $12,000 per year for labor, water, electricity and chemicals.
After the presentation the board voted to accept the assessment report and then voted to demolish the fountain and authorize staff to seek an additional appropriation from the mayor and city controller’s office and ultimately city council to fund the demolition work.
Public comment included residents who described the fountain as a cherished landmark and urged repair rather than removal; others said demolition could open the plaza for different festival layouts and improved programming. One resident noted the survey the department ran was difficult to interpret because many respondents stopped before finishing all questions, and staff said the public input was roughly split between restoring and removing the fountain.
The board’s demolition vote included a request that staff pursue additional city funding to pay for demolition and site work; the board did not yet adopt a replacement plan for the plaza pending appropriation and further staff recommendations.
