Is anyone out there?

I received the following email from 10best.com today...

" Hi! My name is Julius Dargan and I'm with 10best, Inc. We provide free online travel guides at our website, www.10best.com, and we list the Friendship Park Fountain in our Jacksonville database. I am curious as to the status of the fountain - from looking at your website, it appears as though the fountain's days may be numbered. While I hope that is not the case, I would like your honest opinion concerning whether or not the fountain will ever be returned to its original glory, as I would not want to steer my clients towards an attraction that is no longer there. Your response will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for your time."

I wrote back the following...

"Hello Julius,

At this time it would be hard to say what the ultimate conclusion that
will be reached however there are forces at work to preserve
Friendship Fountain and restore it to full function.

The way many see this is the Mayor's office may be the only ones that
are pushing for it's demolition and some speculation that there may be
ulterior motives in moving Kid's Park to the present location of the
Fountain to free that land up for commercial development.

As the Mayor's office has not spoken a word on the subject since Oct
of last year my fear is that they are hoping that by doing nothing
long enough the infrastructure of the Fountain itself will start
failing more and reinforce their stand that it would be cost
prohibitive to restore.

However others in support of the Fountain have spoken recently and at
least one City council member strongly indicated that they would only
support the restoration of Friendship Fountain so I have not lost hope
but there doesn't seem to be any quick resolution of this in sight...

Thanks for the inquiry and I wish i could provide more substance
however since this came to light the Communication to me from the
Mayor's office has been one sided, I write, and they ignore...

If I may have permission I would certainly like to make public your
communication and concern as well as link to your site's mention of
Friendship Fountain...

Thanks for your interest,
Bob"

Then Julius wrote back with this...
"Bob,

You are certainly welcome to use my comments in any respect, as well as provide a link to our site if you so choose. I must inform you, however, that as of now it will be up to the judgement of an editor here at 10best as to whether or not the fountain will remain on our website. Good luck with your ongoing efforts to restore this landmark.

Sincerely,
Julius Dargan"

One of the Top Ten sightseeing recommendations according to 10.best.com and here we are just waiting and wondering while we get nothing from the Mayor's office... Just sad :(

Oh by the way in the Met Jax Post I mentioned in my last post continues to grow with the majority seemingly wanting FriendShip Fountain restored...
http://www.metjax.com/forums/showthread.php?p=57470

Make your voice heard call and write your City Council Member and the Mayor's office...

-Bob

Interesting MetJax Thread regarding Friendship Fountain

I cam across this today and I am extremely pleased to see MetJax keeping the Fountain issue in the forefront...

I am especially pleased with this quote from Suzanne Jenkins, City CouncilWoman...

My understanding is $75,000.00 dollars is needed to replace the pump that governs the large fountain spray in the middle. I would like to see that happen now, while the rest of the park is being planned and reworked.

Please visit the below link for the full Thread and postings...
http://www.metjax.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3926

-Bob