The flyers surrounding the Cullen Family Plaza Fountain’s fences say its deadline was back in May. Yet it’s still closed and with no due date announced.
The construction team was held up due to funding, principal project manager Vicky Alsaker said.
“We just don’t have control of some things,” Alsaker said. “Sometimes people don’t respond, or you just don’t have enough funding. In those six months, we hoped we would have the funding in time. We hope to be done by mid next year – hopefully before graduation. Currently we are a month into (construction), but we don’t have a lock on the date.”
The project was expected to last only six months, starting in December, to address the fountain’s deteriorating structural condition.
Because of its age, the fountain’s pipes are leaking and concrete sections in the pool allow water to seep through, causing the soil below to become saturated.
Project manager Theron Mathis said this six-month period was only a “design and exploratory phase.”
The prolonged closure has caught students’ eyes, especially those who spent a lot of their time nearby.
“The fountain was pretty much a place where anyone could chill and relax in the outdoor scenery,” psychology junior Jesus Rivera said. “I feel really disappointed that it’s still under construction. They should get it finished as soon as possible.”
For bystanders, this construction has been an obstacle from getting to class.
“I just feel as though it is a prolonged eyesore so I don’t really find myself walking through there anymore,” business sophomore Reza Mousavidin said. “I can’t wait for it to open back up because I did find that to be a very peaceful area on campus.”
In the new school year, incoming students will continue to wait to see the fountain at work and its well-loved scenic spot on campus.
“I’d really love to see it,” human resource development junior Liah Hext said. “At orientation they hyped us up about it and I really want to see what all the hype’s about.”
See, with a six month deadline, I thought the renovations to the fountains were going to be mostly aesthetic, but if the fountains need substantial structural overhaul, then whoever thought that could be completed in six months was fairly optimistic.
That being said, the delay in construction due to funding lapses is a pretty unacceptable excuse in this context. Outside of dire circumstances of safety, I can’t see a public institution issuing a NTP to a contractor without the means to pay them, especially when there are already multiple building and infrastructure projects currently in construction on campus. It would be much more understandable if the fountains were closed due to safety concerns while the PMs were in their supposed exploratory and design phase.
As an Alumna I was so disappointed that it wasn’t up an running when I was on campus several times over the last six months. It is an iconic part of campus. Please get it done soon.