A non-profit group trying to keep a spring-fed well north of Fairbanks open is facing an upcoming fund raising deadline. Friends of Fox Spring is taking donations to cover formerly state funded operation and maintenance of the popular drinking water site off the Elliot Highway north of Fairbanks.
Friends of Fox Spring member Nana Paldi said the state Department of Transportation, which owns the well site, is scheduled to cease operation of the facility.
”July 1 is the date for closure of the well unless we can present anywhere between $25,000 and $50,000,” Paldi said. “We’re still negotiating that figure as to what is an accurate amount to enable DOT to continue the operation and maintenance.”
Friends of Fox Spring formed this past winter to keep the watering site open and in public ownership. Two years ago the DOT announced a plan to stop operating the well as a cost saving measure.
Paldi says her group is working on a memorandum of understanding with the DOT outlining funding requirements, in anticipation of the July deadline. She says as much as $7,000 has been raised through events and on line donations, and believes the potential is there for more.
”Because 2,000 people signed a petition in 2015 to retain the Fox watering site in the public domain, if everyone contributed $25, we would meet our goal of $50,000.”
Friends of Fox Spring has set up a sign at the Fox Well alerting users about the fundraising effort and approaching deadline.
Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
