Fountain vandalism costs $3000
Vandals twice put dye into a central-city water fountain, which houses a prominent sculpture, requiring a costly cleanup.
Last year vandals put dye in the water pool that surrounds the All Creatures Great sculpture by Paul Dibble outside the entrance to the Palmerston North City Library, at the top of the ramp between George St and The Square.
The sculpture was cleaned, and was not damaged by the dye or the cleaning. The cleaning cost $3000.
The Palmerston North City Council’s chief customer officer, Chris Dyhrberg, said dye was put in the pools on two occasions, in May and August last year.
‘‘The vandalism was intentional, occurred overnight, and both instances were reported to police,’’ Dyhrberg said.
‘‘The dye was not placed in the pool during or for any council event.’’
The dye stained the pool lining and the part of the sculpture that was submerged in the water, a whale tail.
The All Creatures Great sculpture features a whale and a stack of elephants supporting a human hand holding a plumb bob, a weight suspended from a string.
Dibble, who casts his work in bronze, is a renowned artist, and many of his recognisable works are on display around Palmerston North. The pools are now empty.
‘‘We worked with an art conservator and a pool technician to develop a plan for safely cleaning both the pool and the sculpture,’’ Dyhrberg said.
‘‘All care was taken through the entire process, and the sculpture was protected from the hydrochloric acid pool cleaning process.’’
Pumping out and disposing of the dyed water and cleaning the pools cost $3000, not including staff time.
Dyhrberg said the council was working through maintenance issues before the pools could be refilled.
A police spokesperson said there was insufficient evidence to continue investigations.
The spokesperson said a man was in May seen dropping an unknown substance into the pool, which changed colour to purple. The man then left the area.