The fountain between the Students Services Building and the Union may become a planter bed for native flora.
The Tanner Foundation donated money in 1986 to install the fountain, which hasn’t worked for more than five years.
It fell into disrepair when the ground below settled, severing the water pipes coming from the Student Services Building out into the fountain, according to Elven Webb, an irrigation foreman.
Five years ago, the U tried to run it for graduation, but water ran into the Student Services Building, where the pump room is located.
To the 2000-2001 General Assembly of the Associated Students of the University of Utah, the dry fountain was an “eyesore.”
The assembly passed a resolution stating that students were in support of the fountain’s repair, “either through donations or student fees.”
But according to Pieter Vanderhave, director of plant operations, “never was any money provided to pay for operations, maintenance, utility costs or major overhauls.”
The administration has long attempted to fix the fountain, but a lack of funding has prevented it from doing so.
It may not be fixed anytime soon, either.
“We’re a long way off of that. There’s no budget for it,” Webb said.
The late Boyd Blackner, the original architect, estimated that for $200,000 the U could make all necessary repairs. Those repairs would include leveling the ground, pouring a new cap wall around the perimeter, relocating the pump motors and replacing the tile that popped off during winter freezes.
The cost of the renovations influenced the U to “work with the Tanner family to find an alternate solution,” Vanderhave said.
That’s when the idea for a replacement planter bed sprouted.
Last year, Archie Phillips, project manager of the U, submitted to the administration a quote of $42,000 to remove and replace the fountain.
And though this alternative is much cheaper, there are other projects at the U that are more important, according to Phillips.
“I’m sure that finding that $42,000 is not a top priority,” he said.
