DRI-City Agree: Fountains Will Be Turned On

By DAN SMITH

At least partly as the result of Spectrum Design owner John Garland wanting the fountain in front of his business to run during the summer months, the City of Roanoke and Downtown Roanoke Inc. have reached an agreement that will result in the bubbling of the downtown’s fountains again.

The fountains had been turned off as a cost-saving measure by the city and Garland offered to pay to have the fountain in the plaza across from Fire Station No. 1—and in front of Spectrum—uncovered and geared up to run. He was negotiating with the city when DRI got interested and negotiated a deal that will allow four downtown fountains to operate through October.

Spectrum will sponsor the fountain in front of it; the Hotel Roanoke will sponsor the Railwalk fountain and the Gateway Fountain on Williamson Road near I-581 will be at least partially sponsored by Member One, says Sean Luther, director of DRI.

The fountain between the Norfolk Southern Building and the parking garage is already operating, apparently at city expense. The total cost of operating the fountains is $3,144, says Luther and matching money will come from DRI’s RoanokeFoundation, an independent non-profit.

Says Garland, “Communication, cooperation, idea sharing, and shared responsibilities are all concepts that create positive initiatives in our community. The fountains operating are a fine example of how we can all work together to achieve positive results.”

Luther says, “I’m very excited. This benefits quality of life and indicates vibrancy downtown.”