Wheeling trustees back replacement of Friendship Park fountain, budgeted in CIP

Trustees signaled consensus during the Nov. 1 budget hearing to replace the Friendship Park fountain at Milwaukee and Dundee after staff presented the ongoing infrastructure problems and cost analysis.

Manager/Presenter (S3) summarized years of mitigation attempts and a continuing major leak, telling the board, "we are losing... 2,000 gallons an hour." Staff said exhaustive analysis suggests three realistic options: raise and convert the site to a pocket park, repair the existing fountain (estimated at about $3,000,000), or replace it with a new fountain (estimated about $5,000,000). Given repeated failures of temporary repairs and the fountain’s civic prominence, trustees favored replacement and asked staff to begin consulting-design work in 2026 with a potential construction phase in 2027. Staff confirmed that the CIP already includes allocation for a replacement and that further design-stage outreach will follow.

Trustees discussed design tradeoffs — water usage, maintenance complexity, walkability and how the site functions as a community focal point — and asked staff to return with a procurement and community-engagement plan.