Commissioner: ‘From my perspective, we’re going to do this project one way or the other’
By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news
The Butler Perozzi Fountain restoration project now has an estimated $1.2 million price tag — twice the endeavor’s original estimate — as it moves through its “design phase,” according to Ashland Parks & Recreation Director Rocky Houston.
“We are currently working to identify potential phases of the project and reviewing other resources as we move forward to 100% design. We will ensure that the project bid will have the resources needed to complete the project,” Houston said in an email.
The project is 60% through a design phase of evaluating and designing the restoration project, resulting in the $1.2 million cost estimate. Houston stated the increase from the $600,000 originally estimated is due to factors such as inflation, discoveries during the evaluation process and regulatory requirements.
This project is funded through donations while other Parks capital projects are funded through Food & Beverage taxes or fees, but the high cost is still a concern, Houston said. Ashland Parks & Recreation faces 5 to 10% cuts through the ongoing budget process, as previously reported by Ashland.news.
The Ashland Parks Foundation announced the success of a fundraising campaign to restore the fountain in October 2024, with $800,000 raised that “also included a generous maintenance fund to ensure the fountain is properly cared for in the future,” according to the Parks Foundation website.
Mike Gardiner, president of the foundation and an Ashland Parks & Recreation Commissioner, said the estimates coming in now from consultant Architecture Research Group are estimates — the final project costs won’t be known until the project receives and accepts bids from contractors. A process that could last into the summer, he said.
Gwin S. Butler and Domingo Perozzi gave the fountain to Ashland in 1916. The pair obtained it after its use in the 1915 San Francisco Panama-Pacific International Exhibition at a cost of $3,000, “a considerable sum in those days,” the foundation website said. Adjusting for inflation through an online calculator, $3,000 in 1915 is equivalent to $94,989 in 2025.
Sculpted by Antonio Filli — a specialist in Belle Epoque subjects — from Verona marble, the fountain has been renovated by Ashland before, according to the website. Made from a comparatively soft marble, the fountain is vulnerable to the elements.
In 1987, Ashland sculptor Jeffrey Bernard was commissioned to restore it. Having studied in Italy, he obtained “Flower of Peach” marble to restore the pedestal and statue, refurbishing the original four gargoyles and the lower bowl foliage. The original marble “boy and goose” that previously adorned the top were removed and stored at the Ashland Public Library while a bronze replica was cast and “Water flowed from the goose’s spout, and new lighting illuminated the jewel of Lithia Park once more,” the website said.
“It was a massive, years-long effort by the City, many nonprofit groups, and individual contributions from the Ashland community who supported the restoration financially and otherwise,” the website said of the 1987 restoration.
By 2023, a new effort to restore the fountain was well underway, according to a letter of recommendation sent from the Ashland Parks Foundation to the Ashland Parks & Recreation Commission.
“For the past several years the foundation has been actively involved in seeking a solution to the deterioration of the historic fountain. As part of this activity we have funded consultation and reports from outside experts,” the letter said. “We are finding that a significant majority of Ashland citizens prefer restoration over replacement of the fountain.”
The letter recommended a restoration project that would replace foundational structures with an eye for maximum longevity and the public will to preserve the fountain. Prior to the fundraising effort, the foundation sought estimates to create a fundraising goal, Gardiner said. The foundation then padded those numbers with expectations of rising costs.
“We’re dealing with cost increases like everyone else,” Gardiner said. “The main issue is right now, on paper we don’t have the money to do the project the way we wanted to do it,” Gardiner said.
The high cost estimates coming in now are likely due to labor costs — especially the necessity of highly specialized intensive labor for portions of the project, Gardiner said. Materials as simple as steel and the cost of traditional labor such as electrical and plumbing are also rising. The idea of a replica made of different materials has been considered and would likely cost more but potentially last longer, Houston said in his email. “Phasing” the project could reduce the immediate cost and stay within available resources but does usually result in a higher cost project overall, he said.
The ongoing design phase is the initial phase of evaluating the project and translating those evaluations into drawings and plans, Gardiner said. Then the planned out project will go out for a government bidding process where interested contractors will submit their own cost and time estimates to complete the project.
If the foundation needs to raise more funds beyond the $800,000 it already has on hand or “phase” the project, it will consider that when the final bids come in, Gardiner said.
“From my perspective, we’re going to do this project one way or the other,” he said.
Houston noted in his email APRD is grateful to donors and the Ashland Parks Foundation. Gardiner said donations continue to trickle in for the fountain through the Foundation’s website. To learn more about the fountain or contact the foundation and provide feedback on the project, visit its website.
Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at morganr@ashland.news.
