Downtown fountain a waste of money
WAUKESHA
Downtown fountain a waste of money
Sunday, April 20, 2003
I can’t stand it. Are the city fathers and the government of the City of Waukesha ignorant or just plain oblivious to what is going on around them? I read with great dismay the article about the proposed fountain project in Youmans Park (“Replica of illuminated fountain proposed for downtown,” April 16).
Where is the money going to come from to pay for the heat, light and power to run this thing into perpetuity? Haven’t they heard that there are fiscal problems with budget shortfalls and cutbacks everywhere? Once again, the taxpayer will be asked to dig. Oh, sure, it’s only a couple of cents, but it all adds up, and I, for one, am tired of it.
If the fountain is built, what will we have? Another monument to our decadence and waste. Or would it be about the famous Waukesha water that the state and federal government says is no good to drink? Attract people to downtown? I don’t think so. I live in Waukesha, and I never shop downtown because it has nothing I want.
Do officials really believe I would drive one foot out of my way to look at a fountain? If they want people to come downtown, they should tear down some of those old run-down “historic” buildings and put up a Sears or other big-box store that has something people want at a price they want to pay.
Why don’t they take the $200,000 being raised for the fountain and give it to a food pantry or help some of the unemployed? Or just use it to cover the budget shortfall.
Robert G. Rode Waukesha
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