The futuristic-looking but flawed Julie Penrose Fountain powers up on May 24, after dirty feet caused breakdowns that marred its inaugural season.

Dedicated June 7, the $1.6 million fountain immediately became a prime wading spot at the America the Beautiful Park southwest of downtown.

The four-story stainless steel rotating ring’s 344 jets rain a curtain of water that pools on pavement at its base, creating the perfect summer cooling-off spot.

But the fountain’s internal screens were too porous to catch debris children and other waders tracked in, and the jets got clogged.

The city shut down the fountain in June to install fabric “socks” to filter debris.

It reopened in late June, but city officials knew they needed a better long-term solution.

That fix, along with other upgrades, came with a $60,000 price tag, said Chris Lieber, manager of design development and trails, open space and parks for the city Parks Department.

The biggest change is the addition of a bag filtration system.

“This bag filtration system does a better job of collecting those fine particles,” he said.

The city also added surge protection to guard against damage from lightning, which could burn out the motors that turn it.

“There was no problem last year, but we thought this was a good thing to do,” Lieber said. “If there’s a lightning strike, there is a breaker that takes that energy as opposed to having that transferred through the fountain structure.”

The chlorine system has been upgraded to improve monitoring, and a grate added at the fountain’s base to keep people from climbing into the lights.

In addition, starting today, a contractor will clean tarnish from the steel, at a cost of $7,500, which may become an annual project.

Why the fountain tarnishes is a mystery.

Lieber said either the rust-like discoloration results from chlorine residue, or the structure picks up ice-melt spray from Interstate 25 on its west side.

All those problems aside, Lieber said the fountain is a hit.

“It’s becoming an icon in our community,” he said. “We certainly hear a lot of good things about it, but at the same time there certainly are some costs associated with operating it.”

Not only does the fountain draw comments from tourists, on hot summer days hundreds of people flock to it.

The fountain bears the name of the wife of Spencer Penrose, one-time owner of The Broadmoor and founder of the philanthropic El Pomar Foundation, which gave $840,000 for the fountain.

The balance came from other sources, including city taxes and state grants.

The $60,000 in repairs and improvements were funded with lottery money. City taxes pay for the fountain’s $19,000 operational cost, which covers chlorine, filter bags and employment of two attendants to enforce the rules, such as no climbing on the structure.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0238 or pam.zubeck@gazettedev.gazette.com

Julie Penrose Fountain Photo by The Gazette File

Jerilee Bennett