OIL CITY, Pa (EYT) — The City Manager of Oil City, Mark Schroyer, said that the East Second Street project is set to begin as early as next week during Thursday’s City Council Meeting.

Photo above: The Oil City East End Fountain as seen on July 17, 2014.

The project, which was postponed in 2022 due to a worldwide shortage of construction materials, involves replacing the road, sidewalks, water and sewer lines, and installing ADA-compliant curb ramps at every intersection from Wilson Avenue to Route 62, a stretch that’s almost a mile long.

Crews will need to dig to a depth of 17 feet to access the water and sewer lines that require replacement, according to Schroyer. He stated, “I anticipate next week things are going to start heating up,” regarding the excavation phase of the project.

City Manager Schroyer recommended to the council that the East End Fountain, which is in need of repair and is located near the renovation site, remain closed and covered during construction, which is expected to last about five or six months if the project goes smoothly. The fountain will need to be closed down and covered for the winter anyway, said Schroyer, so repairs to it will be postponed until at least 2024.

Oil City Council members agreed with Schroyer’s proposal to keep the fountain closed and covered.

When the fountain repair project begins, the city has two options for the fountain’s renovation, said Schroyer. The city will need to decide between a computer-controlled system that would make the water display programmable, or a simple, traditional on-off fountain.

Schroyer stated that he prefers a more hydraulic-driven system, saying, “We’re trying to get away from this complicated computer-driven system to go back to a more hydraulic-driven system where you turn on the switch and it works versus all this craziness with the fountain dancing a water dance, which is beautiful, no question about it. But it’s extremely difficult to operate.”

Councilman Ronald Gustafson also expressed his preference for a traditional fountain. “I’d like to see it nice and steady, anyways,” he said.

The East End Fountain was built at a cost of approximately $158,000 between December 2013 and July 2014 as a replacement for a fountain, constructed in 1962, that sat in the same spot. In 2013, the fountain sprung a leak. Repairs were deemed untenable; a new fountain was needed.

The new fountain was designed with the assistance of Flair Fountains of Minneapolis, Minnesota and built to resemble its predecessor, though it was built with more than twice the amount of concrete.

In 2013, John Deemer, who helped lead the push for the new fountain, said, “I want to build a fountain that will last 100 years, and with today’s technology, we can.”

While Deemer’s vision of a fountain lasting a century did not come true, City Council members appear poised to bring the landmark back to life as early as 2024.