The downtown Bellefontaine streetscape — including the pineapple fountain in front of the Logan County Courthouse — could get a facelift later this year if a local group is successful in landing a beautification grant.
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The historic pineapple fountain in front of the Logan County Courthouse, right, and concrete planters along Main Street, above, could get a facelift this year if the Bellefontaine Shade Tree Commission is successful in obtaining a grant through Dayton Power & Light’s Right Tree, Right Place program. (EXAMINER PHOTOS | REUBEN MEES)
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Shelley Moore of the Bellefontaine Shade Tree Commission said the organization has applied for a $50,000 Right Tree, Right Place grant through Dayton Power & Light. The grants are only available to cities with Tree City USA designations in DP&L’s service area.
The grant request, which was submitted prior to the Jan. 31 deadline, asks for money to replace about 40 pear trees downtown but also includes money for improvements to the fountain and surrounding landscape, new bicycle racks, replacement concrete planting pots and energy-efficient LED lighting in street lamps, Ms. Moore said.
DP&L, however, does not notify winners until Arbor Day, April 29.
“We’ve got our fingers crossed and hope it comes to fruition,” Ms. Moore said. “The goal is to make cities more walkable and bike friendly.”
The Logan County Commissioners said this week they planned to discuss the fountain repair proposal with personnel from Midstate Contractors the contractors for the courthouse restoration, which also is expected to be complete this year.
The goal is to repair the top bowl of the fountain, install lighting and add a filter to help reduce rust, Ms. Moore said. An estimate of the cost has not been calculated.
“The top bowl is cracked so we would either like to get a new bowl or get a concrete restorer to repair the bowl,” she said. “We would also like to add some uplighting to light the fountain possibly from inside the water in the lower bowl. It would also add new shrubs around the base, just to give it a nice facelift.”
The remainder of the project would add 10 bicycle racks, which would tie in with the recently completed Simon Kenton Trail extension.
“With the bike path ending here in town we thought it would be nice to make downtown bike friendly,” Ms. Moore said.
There is also about $8,500 designated toward concrete planters around downtown, which are planted annually by the Rake and Hoe Garden Club.