Gateway fountain revitalization ‘not a priority’ for Cambridge council
Posted Feb 26, 2026 10:46:40 AM.
Last Updated Feb 26, 2026 11:50:32 AM.
City councillors said a project that would see the concrete fountains brought back to life at the gateway to Cambridge on Hespeler Road is not an urgent need.
The motion, introduced by Councillor Scott Hamilton, worked to dive into possible options that would revitalize the fountains at the corner of Hespeler and Pinebush roads in Cambridge.
His motion described the gateway fountain project as a key landmark that connects “Galt, Preston, and Hespeler together at a critical juncture in the city.”
While Hamilton intended to request that city staff begin researching and developing possible recommendations for the future of the fountains, other councillors pointed to the potential future costs and commitments that they couldn’t sign on to.
“I’m open to exploring options, but I don’t want us to be overly committed to this,” said Councillor Nicholas Ermeta. “It’s not a priority on the list of what taxpayers want us to spend money on.”
At a recent meeting, Hamilton pushed that the motion was not designed to commit staff to those costs down the road, hoping to simply get the ball rolling on the project and get staff involved.
“The key points of this are the first step, which would be just reaching out to Home Depot,” Hamilton said. “They’ve already said they’re willing to chat with us, so before we even move on to expenses with consultants and how much things cost, maybe we just want to reach out and have our staff chat with them.”
The site of the gateway fountains at 35 Pinebush Rd. currently sits on land owned by Home Depot, which previously was the location of Knob Hill Farms before it closed its doors in the mid-2000s.
Other councillors, including Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett, pointed directly to ongoing debts the city has been tackling as well as a list of projects coming down the pipeline, not just from the city, but from the regional level as well.
“Every time we sit here and do something around this horseshoe, we have to think about the impact that we have on the people who are not able to pay their taxes,” Liggett stated. “You’ve got to remember, it’s not just what they’re paying to us, but the region’s taxes as well.”
Liggett said Cambridge currently sits with $39 million in unpaid taxes, as well as more than 6,000 overdue accounts. That creates compounding financial commitments and urgencies when other delayed and unfunded projects are rolled into the mix.
She also reminded councillors of the impending costs that could arise and the implications of the fountain regarding the region’s ongoing water capacity constraints.
Councillors Adam Cooper and Mike Devine echoed similar remarks, with Cooper saying the project is “not a must have,” but did support Hamilton in saying that gateway pillars would be “nice to have.”
“We want to find out if we could do this, but in a way that’s not going to immediately commit us to a whole ton of expenses and a whole ton of staff work,” Cooper stated.
Hamilton said that, while much of council continued focusing on the possible future cost of the gateway fountain revitalization project, he said those were questions that would be answered if the motion were to be pushed forward.
“In terms of costs, will we have to pay for expensive consultants; That’s the point of this motion,” Hamilton said. “To look at the potential costs. How much would a consultant cost when it comes to the budget? Would that be worth it?”
After hearing those continued critiques from other council members, Hamilton went on to say that it may be worth trimming back and simplifying the motion in order to keep the project moving forward, if not slower than previously.
“Before we go too far down the rabbit hole of spiralling costs, we might just want to reach out and take that first initial step,” Hamilton mentioned. “If the motion needs to be amended in any way to prioritize that above everything, I’m absolutely fine with that.”
That’s ultimately the route council went down, with Hamilton officially calling back his motion and rewording it to specifically say, “staff are to report back on conversations with Home Depot regarding the fountains.”
He continued to say they would then continue to “explore future considerations for post-secondary institutions and secondary plan inclusion and or other options, and report back to council prior to the 2027 budget discussions.”
