Detroit to spend $6M in federal funds to restore decades-old fountain
Again, federal covid relief money is spent to renovate buildings and landmarks
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the age of the fountain.
Detroit City Council has approved the use of $5.8 million in federal COVID relief money to restore the Dodge Fountain in Hart Plaza, The Detroit News reports.
The restoration should be complete by the time the NFL Draft takes place in Detroit from April 25 to 27. Detroit hopes to have the fountain functional again “by April,” Sarah Rahal reports.
The council voted 8-1 in favor of the restoration, The News reported. The lone no vote was Angela Whitfield-Calloway, who cast a protest vote in the name of fountain equity. Hart Plaza is downtown. Whitfield-Calloway said she would’ve liked to see the funds support a fountain in one of Detroit’s neighborhoods instead.
"We're finding money to repair fountains, but a fountain at Palmer Park is just sitting there rotting,” Whitfield-Calloway told The News. “If we can find ARPA dollars to restore, repair, and fix for this fountain at 8 Mile and Woodward, the oldest fountain in the city, I'd be more supportive.”
Read it for yourself: Detroit council OKs $5.8 million to restore Hart Plaza fountain (paywall)
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