Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Five-year-old Tyler Barsey cools himself off in the fountain in the Town Plaza last week, oblivious of town plans to make the fountain safer or perhaps replace it altogether.

Bell tower will stay in plaza

Master Plan calls for new lawn, lights, improved fountain

By Clarence Cromwell

The fire bell will remain on the Town Plaza, and the plaza will eventually get $48,500 in improvements under a Town Plaza Master Plan accepted by the Town Council May 19. That plan includes new turf and a safer fountain.

John Spaur and John Lochner convinced council members to keep a place on the plaza for the historic fire bell that summoned volunteer firefighters from 1899 to 1949. Spaur designed the current bell tower, and Lochner represents the Lions Club, which played a big part in retrieving the bell from Chicken Kitchen restaurant in Lodi and placing it on the town square.

"It does provide a very unique and visual draw to the park," Spaur said. "If you take out the bell tower, it's one less reason to explore the park."

After approving the plan 3-1, all four council members present added that they want the bell and tower to stay (Steve Blanton was absent). The original blueprints drawn up by landscape architect Paul Rodrigues called for removal of the tower and placement of the bell at the Forbes Mill Museum.

The Plaza Master Plan includes a $20,500 electrical system that would illuminate the park's trees at night and $22,000 worth of sod to replace the trampled turf.

Improvements in the plaza fountain will at least make it safer but could also involve a new interactive fountain design, one that lets people walk through and get cooled with a spurt of water if they wish.

Director of Building and Engineering Services Scott Baker said the current fountain could become a liability because children frequently play on the conical, rock-encrusted mound at its center. Should a small child slip from the mound and get hurt, he or she might drown in the moat surrounding the mound.

The plan also includes $6,000 for a new water-filtration system in the fountain.

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