LOOGOOTEE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)– Loogootee mayor Noel Harty had one thought as he looked at the city’s new downtown fountain.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled. It’s really a focal point for our downtown.”
Harty said getting the fountain to replace their old one had been in the works for several years, but last summer was when the process really picked up.
“We just decided eventually last year that it was time to move forward on having a new fountain installed,” he said.
The project cost about $80,000, and Harty said the city got a number of county and state grants to help cover the costs.
And across the street from the fountain, Loogootee Eye Center is just starting the process of getting a mural done on the side of their building. Office manager Samantha Alvarez said she officially received final approval on Wednesday for the design.
“We started [applying for grants] in April, we were approved in May, and right now we’re in the final design processes,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez said she got in touch with the artist of the mural the city had completed last year to help with the design.
The artist we’re working with also did the mural I’m standing next to. She’s very excited to be working on our building also, it’s been fun to work with her to get her ideas because what we had was kind of just a rough idea,” she said. “She had a lot of great input on it.”
Harty said work is still being done so the fountain doesn’t lose as much water. They are also waiting on four benches to be installed around the fountain.
He said the city hopes to have a green space put in downtown, replacing a railroad lot, but those discussions are in their early stages and wouldn’t finish until next year.
Harty said it’s satisfying to watch the area continue to develop.
The focal point is to really revitalize our downtown, so that’s where are,” he said. “We’re not done yet but I do think it’s starting to really come together and look great.”
