Some question cost of fountain underneath overpass

Monday, July 30, 2007

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The fountain cost $1.3 million.

YBOR CITY (Bay News 9) -- Workers are finishing landscaping around a tiered fountain that features an almost 29,000-square-foot pool underneath the I-4 overpass in Ybor City.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) had considered building a small park there or even a parking lot, but a lack of sunlight and concerns about traffic killed those ideas.

"Then working with the city, and with this being a gateway into Ybor City right off the interstate, it was finally decided, let's put a fountain there," said FDOT spokesman John McShaffrey. "It will be attractive and a good use of the property."

The $1.3 million price tag has caused some to wonder if there could have been better uses for the cash.

"It looks lovely," said Tampa resident Lynn Hirt. "I'm not sure it's worth the money, though."

"I just don't understand why they spent that kind of money on it," said Tampa resident Richard Morgan. "It could have been spent better here in Ybor."

FDOT points out the fountain is part of the $172 million I-4 expansion project and the cost of the fountain is less that 1 percent of the total project cost.

Some are concerned people may want to use the fountain as a bath or swimming pool, but McShaffrey says a 10-foot-high iron fence with locking gates should keep people out.

The City of Tampa will be responsible for maintaining the chlorinated fountain.