Fountain City needs a fountain

By DON ALLISON - Bryan Times Senior Editor

The idea of bringing a fountain back to the square has provided some recent food for thought. Now there's a bit more to chew on.

A program by Hamburger Helper has provided $8,000 to Downtown Bryan Inc. toward its goal of a fountain - actually fountains - on the courthouse lawn.    
 

Mandy Hanna, Downtown Bryan Inc. program manager, said the $8,000 from Hamburger Helper will be combined with an $15,000 grant from Wal-Mart to bring the seed money total to $23,000. And that money is just a start. The fountain project envisioned by planners is a far cry from the former vandal-plagued fountain of past years.

"Our hope is," Hanna said, "if people come to Bryan to see a big wonderful fountain, then they'll dine here, and they'll shop here, and that will help out our community."

It's not lost on planners that a fountain would seem a natural for the Fountain City. In fact, as many as three separate fountains are being considered. The first - and the centerpiece of the plans - would be located on the northeast corner of the square.

"For the larger fountain, we want something colorful, and musical," Hanna said. "We want something that will draw in people from other towns."

The fountain could be a year-round, daily draw, Hanna said. "We're looking for ideas for benching, for picnic table arrangements, so people can sit down and eat lunch. We want it to be family friendly."

Beyond that, Hanna said, a fountain could provide special light and music shows, a special draw to the downtown.

"We're looking for three themes, or three ideas, and we're looking for themes that will follow the design of the courthouse," she said. "We're definitely looking for an interactive children's fountain." Planners envision jets that children could set off as they play during warm weather.

"We’re looking for something simple," Hanna said in describing the third fountain, "something like the limestone rocks of the courthouse."

Lending a push to the fountain proposal is Dan Yahraus. Although he serves as Bryan Area Chamber of Commerce executive director, he noted the fountain is a DBI project. His support is as a DBI volunteer, not the Chamber director, he said.

"I've had an individual come to me probably every year since I've been Chamber director, asking about whether we would ever bring a fountain back to the square," Yahraus said.

Yahraus said he's always been in favor of the idea. "But how would we make it happen? Where would the money come from?"

The Wal-Mart and Hamburger Helper grants have been a start, he said, and meetings with people around town have generated positive feedback.

"We're looking at having somebody to come in and give us some plans, and give us some estimated costs," he said, These plans and estimates will be at no cost to DBI, from firms that specialize in fountain installation.

Both Yahraus and Hanna noted the Williams County commissioners have been supportive of the fountain proposals.

"We're excited about the possibility," County Commissioner Brian Davis said.

"The commissioners are certainly interested in entertaining any ideas they have regarding a fountain," Davis said. He stressed, however, the fountain installation, operation and maintenance would not be the county's responsibility.

Davis said the sidewalk and retaining wall project is planned for 2008, and the county wants to work with DBI at that time to accommodate fountain plans.

The impact a fountain could have on downtown business is not lost on Ryan Spengler, who has helped promote the idea. He and his wife, Sarah, own Seasons Coffee & Bistro on the square.

"We see the fountain as an attraction to bring people downtown," Spengler said. He noted the fountain can accomplish this goal without competing against, or negatively affecting, any downtown business.

Spengler said the fountain will be a boost to downtown business, but it needs to be a quality project and needs sufficient backing. "No doubt it will take some coordinated effort, and it will take some backing," he said.

But then, he said, "Downtown can return some of its vitality."

"If it can be done right, and gets the people to catch the vision," Spengler said, "I think it's going to be a good thing for downtown Bryan, and Bryan as a whole."

Another fountain supporter has been Barb Teegarden of Special Occasions. Hanna said it was Teegarden's idea to have the Bryan fountain proposal listed on Hamburger Helper's www.myhometownhelper.com website, where visitors to the site were invited to post their thoughts on the project.

Bryan was selected for the $8,000 grant after 24 individuals posted messages in support of the idea. For now, it's a start.

"We've had a lot of success with the Christmas lights as an attraction," Yahraus said, "people wanting to come in a see the lights, and we'd like to have the same thing with a fountain."

don@bryantimes.com