The long-dormant fountain at Bud Jobin Park on Green Street may soon be removed as part of a plan to renovate the site, spearheaded by the Royal Canadian Legion’s senior housing group.
Flin Flon city council approved a funding request from the Legion senior housing group during their August 15 meeting, totalling $2,744, to cover costs to remove the fountain and clean up the park.
According to the funding application made to the City, the money received would be used by the Legion housing group to remove the park’s long-disused fountain and prepare the land for redevelopment - namely, to build a new structure on the current site of the fountain and keep the area as a park otherwise. The funds will cover half of the Legion group’s total budget for the project.
The deal would see the Legion group coordinate labour to remove the fountain and build a new structure in its place, described in the funding application as “a pagoda and picnic area”. The work will be done in stages and will be part of a greater revamp of the park as a whole, with the housing group saying the project “will benefit the community as a whole.”
Bud Jobin Park is located right next to the Jubilee Residence, a seniors’ living facility owned and operated by the Legion group - the two are so closely tied that the building is often called “Legion housing”.
“This was something that came up months and months ago. It was an idea then, to repair or remove it from around Legion housing. It’s essentially going to turn this into a really cool little park, removing the concrete fountain and redoing that whole area,” said city councillor Judy Eagle of the City’s knowledge of the project.
The Legion group will oversee the project with a degree of autonomy - no City workers would be needed for the demolition unless water lines or any City infrastructure with the fountain need to be capped off. The park is City property and will remain City property during the refurbishment - councillors did not have a timetable of when the work might begin or concept art showing what the project might look like at completion.
Since at least 2017, the fountain has been used most recently as a planter, with several different plants, both intentionally planted and weeds, now calling the fountain home. The idea to convert the fountain into a planter was originally done with the cooperation of the Flin Flon Horticultural Society, who looked after the plants. The society has since gone on hiatus and the planter is now less maintained, with one person looking after the planter as a hobby project.
“We had sort of this whole background behind what made it work disappear. It became kind of derelict. I think we need something else now in its place,” said Mayor George Fontaine.
The fountain has not been functional as a fountain for at least six years. It was a frequent target for vandalism when it was used, with locals often sneaking soap or bubble bath fluid into the fountain to create large amounts of bubbles, sometimes wreaking havoc on the fountain’s plumbing in the process.
The park was partially resurfaced and renovated in 2013.
