Water park campaign gets rolling
City bicentennial officials are raising funds for fountains
Thursday, February 03, 2005
By JOHN PECK


Huntsville bicentennial officials, showing off a fountain design and statues of frolicking children, launched a campaign Wednesday to raise money for a bicentennial water park downtown.

Planners are on a fast track to finish the park with its interactive fountains by Aug. 6 - Unity Day - when the celebrations marking the city's 200th anniversary will end. The grand finale will feature bands and fireworks, and placement of a time capsule and dedication of the park.

On Wednesday, bicentennial planners rolled out a list of park fixtures donors can sponsor. They include children's statues for $25,000 each, park benches for $5,000, pavilion columns for $10,000 a piece, and personalized commemorative bricks for $100 to $150. Bicentennial T-shirts, mugs, decals and other memorabilia will go on sale at tourist outlets and other locations in time for the Panoply arts festival this spring.

"It's a wonderful way to show your spirit and help us celebrate your hometown's birthday," said bicentennial organizer Sharon Tyson.

Expected to cost from $1 million to $1.5 million, the water park will be built on city property at Williams Avenue and Fountain Row. The city Planning Commission will have to sign off on the design. Plans show a fountain with nearly two dozen jets shooting intermittent plumes of water. The fountain pad will be surrounded by seating areas.

An outdoor pavilion separates the fountain from a circular grassy area where statues, benches and the next time capsule will be placed. The commemorative bricks form the park's walkways.

Mary Jane Caylor, executive director of the Huntsville Bicentennial Commission, said pledges have already begun rolling in for the sponsored fixtures. The statues were acquired from EarlyWorks, which bought them several years ago for an outdoor display.

Caylor said bicentennial planners are still discussing how to store the next time capsule. A buried vault used as the sesquicentennial capsule failed to completely seal out water. A New York firm that helped dry contents from the Titanic is processing the letters and other relics from the city's 150th anniversary celebration. Caylor suggested the bicentennial relics could be preserved in some kind of modern container above ground.