40. Community Need For over 20 years, RiverScape MetroPark and its Fountain of Lights have served as popular Dayton landmarks, bringing people together to connect with nature and contributing to a unique, vibrant community. The park and iconic Fountain of Lights have become two of the most recognized features in downtown Dayton, highlighted and depicted daily in the media and in business advertisements as visual representations of the region. As a result, this has served as a key component of downtown’s revitalization, attracting more people and significant private and public investment in the city.

With aging infrastructure, additional investment is needed to ensure these well-known and much-loved regional features remain operational and provide the services that the public has come to expect. Expenses for repair and replacement of equipment and infrastructure have exceeded $2.5 million since RiverScape and the Fountain of Lights initially opened in 2001.

Over the years, Five Rivers MetroParks, City of Dayton, and Montgomery County have worked together to fund the maintenance and care of Riverscape and the Fountain of Lights. However, the funding available to address current and future repair and replacement of capital equipment and infrastructure exceeds the agencies’ available budgets. The requested funds will support the capital investments that are needed to ensure the park’s amenities, which include the Fountain of Lights, continue to be a regional attraction for years to come.

Approximately 80 percent of Five Rivers MetroParks’ funding comes from a property tax levy supported by Montgomery County taxpayers allowing the agency to protect and maintain local greenspaces and waterways, as well as provide clean, safe parks and opportunities for residents from across the region to enjoy the outdoors. The elimination of the tangible personal property tax funding and the reduction of the local government fund has resulted in a loss of over $2 million per year in funding for the agency. This has significantly reduced available funding for capital repairs and replacement, as well as new capital investments for maintaining and improving the region’s MetroParks.

RiverScape is a destination and a key hub that connects communities throughout the region to downtown Dayton. The park needs major upgrades to equipment that must be replaced and infrastructure projects that need to be addressed. Funds would be used for the replacement of electrical boards for the Fountain of Lights motors, motor and pump rehabilitation of it wells, and new lighting for the fountain’s spiral towers, sound and lighting upgrades at the Pavilion, placemaking updates to the park, riverbank flood repairs, updates to the parks’ electrical system, renovations to its café, bike hub and rental office, irrigation system updates, stage replacement and landscape renovations.

The few blocks surrounding RiverScape have experienced private investment at a 10:1 ratio compared to the public investment in the park. An investment in these projects will help sustain and protect RiverScape MetroPark and its Fountain of Lights for decades to come.