By Debbie Carson, Online Editor
VERO BEACH – Members of the Vero Beach City Council will consider during their council meeting Tuesday evening implementing a $1 donation for visitors to use the Royal Palm Pointe Fountain.
Vero Beach Recreation Commission chairwoman Debbie-Kay Whitehouse will make the pitch before the council, after the meeting begins at 4 p.m. She and her fellow commissioners voted in August to ask fountain users to donate $1 to help the city offset the cost of operation.
Among the issues the council might have to address at Tuesday’s meeting would be how the donations would be collected.
The Recreation Commissioner members discussed having a secure box where donations could be placed or having a volunteer or an attendant handle the cash.
If the council were to decide that an attendant would be best to collect the funds, the members would then have to determine if that person would be a volunteer or a staff member – and if staff, a part-time or full-time employee and the cost associated.
In the past, the Vero Beach City Council charged a $1 fee for the use of the fountain. The mandate at the time created an uproar among the community’s residents and forced the council to reconsider.
The Royal Palm Pointe Fountain costs the city between $2,000 and $4,000 a month of operate and maintain, according to the city’s recreation director, Rob Slezak.
The Recreation Commission’s recommendation to ask users to contribute a $1 donation came on the heels of the council’s initial proposition to shut down the fountain in order to save money. Faced with a public protest of children and adults alike at the fountain, the council later decided to rearrange funding to keep the fountain’s water flowing.
During their budget workshops, the Vero Beach City Council decided to cut funding for the Fourth of July fireworks display and move the money to the fountain.
The fountain operates five days a week year-round from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. During the spring and summer breaks, the city extends the number of days to six and lets the water flow from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
