Columbus Dispatch: Goodale Park fountain project may be on hold

(ERIC ALBRECHT dispatch)

Soon to spout

J.T. Whitney of Columbus Art Memorial Inc., left, helps sculptor Malcolm Cochran cover the elephants on a fountain under construction at Goodale Park. Cochran, an art professor at Ohio State University, hopes to have the multitiered granite fountain finished this month.

This is the progress as of mid May. I took this photo

The story is here

City may refill pond before construction work is complete

By Doug Caruso

The Columbus Dispatch

Columbus is considering refilling the Goodale Park pond with water this week even though a project to install a sculpture and fountain at its center remains unfinished.

The project, paid for by donations gathered by the Friends of Goodale Park, was supposed to be done in June, said Columbus Recreation and Parks Director Alan McKnight. Meanwhile, he said, the city has rented the park’s gazebo to wedding parties that are threatening to back out if the backdrop for their big day remains a construction site.

“It’s a tough situation,” McKnight said. “But there have been a half a dozen deadlines that have come and gone. I’m going to have some pretty unhappy people if there’s not water in that pond.”

Last week, the contractor, Columbus Art Memorial, and the artist who designed the fountain, Malcolm Cochran, attached bronze elephant sculptures to the fountain. Cochran said then that he hoped to finish the project by the end of the month.

McKnight said he broke the news to the leaders of Friends of Goodale Park on Friday that the city plans to refill the pond and put the fountain project on hold. They were unhappy, he said, so he agreed to meet with them again on Monday morning before making a final decision.

He said he appreciates what the Friends of Goodale Park are doing and wants to continue working with them. But he said the contractor’s delays have put everyone in a bad situation.

McKnight said the city has had to refund the $400 two-hour rental fee to several wedding parties. Others took a partial refund and agreed to go ahead using a cloth backdrop to block the view of the construction site.

The Dispatch left messages seeking comment with Cochran, Columbus Art Memorial and Friends of Goodale Park President Jason Kentner yesterday afternoon.