Comment on Forsyth Park stage fountain being removed

Fears of gashed feet are prompting the removal of the fountain in front of Forsyth Park’s outdoor stage. The fountain that was built as part of the sales tax-funded stage project in 2009 is expected to be removed this week and replaced with a landscaped area, according to a memo City Manager Stephanie Cutter sent to the City Council on May 29. The decision was made after warning signs and 5-foot barricades failed to keep children from playing in the water, even when their parents were present, Cutter said. The metal nozzles that poke up under the water have kept city officials’ nerves on edge about the practice since the fountains began operating more than four years ago. Staff also was assigned to monitor the area, but play would resume in the fountain after the supervisors left. About $60,000 in sales tax funds remain available for the band shell project.