Orlando repairing Lake Eola Fountain--bit by bit

In a city without many landmarks, one of the most recognizable symbols of the City of Orlando is finally getting some much needed repair work. The 52 year old Lake Eola fountain has been idle since an August 2009 lightning strike zapped the fountain's motors, lights and electrical controls.

A high insurance deductible, coupled with the economic recession, kept the city from spending the estimated $1.3 million needed to repair the fountain, but as the steamy summer months approach, local officials have signed off on a piecemeal plan to get water flowing over the dome of the fountain so the plastic components will not warp in the Florida sunshine.

The estimated cost of these basic repairs is $30,000 - $40,000, according to reports by the Orlando Sentinel. Bringing the Lake Eola Fountain into the 21st century with synchronized lights and music, as Mayor Buddy Dyer has suggested, would cost over $2 million. The cost of Orlando getting its most important landmark back in working order? Priceless.