$10,000 donation to go toward Fountain Square repairs

AMENIA — The town of Amenia has received a $10,000 donation from Millbrook Tribute Garden to go toward various repairs to Fountain Square in the center of Amenia.

Some quick history: Fountain Square was originally a park built in the early 1920s as a permanent memorial to veterans from the town of Washington who fought in World War I. Flash forward some 90 years and it’s still a local landmark.

“We honor our local veterans here every year, which is extremely important in itself,� said Deputy Supervisor Victoria Perotti. “But Fountain Square is also the gateway to Amenia. As people are coming into town, it’s one of the first things they see. It’s a gathering place not only for honoring veterans but for just about every important town gathering.�

However, time and weather have not surprisingly taken their toll on Fountain Square and several areas need to be addressed soon, including broken brick steps, electrical problems and brick work in the general area around the fountain.

The work to fix the broken brick steps has already gone out to bid, and Perotti said that local contractor John Morey was awarded the project. Part of the bid was also to hire an electrician to look at the site and give the town a repair estimate.

“One of the things that has really plagued us is not being able to keep the Christmas lights on,� she said. “We need to have an electrician take a look at it. Sometimes the lights are on and then all of a sudden they’ll go off. We’re not exactly sure what the problem is, but the bricks will probably have to be dug up to get to the conduits and see what’s not working.�

The fountain itself and the brick floor will be worked on also; Perotti said that there are memorial bricks that have sunken into the ground and the base will need to be repaired so the ground isn’t underwater during rainy weather.

The donation from Millbrook Tribute Garden, a private nonprofit foundation, is “meant to assist the town with the restoration of Fountain Square in the center of Amenia to honor the local veterans,� a press release stated.

The $10,000 will be added to a $500 grant already awarded to the town from M&T Bank, which has a branch not 20 feet from Fountain Square. Perotti said several estimates have placed the entire project around $25,000 to $30,000 and the town will continue to pursue other avenues of funding.

“But we’re so thrilled and excited that the Millbrook Tribute Garden shares our vision,� Perotti added. “It’s something they’ve done in the village of Millbrook, and we’re very happy that they’re supporting us in our efforts.�