Denton city leaders and Rotary Club members will gather today behind City Hall to dedicate a newly refurbished fountain.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Members of the Denton South Rotary Club donated $15,000 to the Denton Parks Foundation to refurbish the aging fountain outside Denton City Hall. The dedication ceremony is planned for 4:30 p.m. today.

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The once-idle fountain got a nearly $30,000 makeover, thanks in part to a $15,000 donation from the Denton South Rotary Club. The Rotary Memorial Fountain now features a granite monument dedicated to three deceased club leaders: Brandon Barnes, Glenn Puyear and Howard Stone.

The club picked the project several years ago as a way to help the city while raising its public profile, President Tom Downey said.

“We have a great group of guys who really go above and beyond to help this community,” he said. “Over the years, they have done a little bit for everyone.”

In 2003, club members were looking for a high-profile service project in anticipation of Rotary International’s centennial celebration in 2005. Barnes, a longtime leader on the city parks board, suggested the fountain, which was plagued by chronic leaks and mechanical problems.

“He started this in motion and, bless his heart, became the first person to end up on the memorial plaque,” Downey said of Barnes, who died in De­cember 2003.

Emerson Vorel, the city’s parks and recreation director, said he wasn’t sure when the original fountain was installed. At one time, the spot served as a watering hole for livestock, he said. A concrete fountain eventually replaced the pond, but by 2003 the elements had taken their toll.

As part of the renovation, workers relined the fountain and installed a circulating pump and filter, Vorel said. They also spruced up the surrounding area, rebuilding a brick walkway, replanting vegetation beds and restoring a black metal sculpture by Arnold Austad.

Work was completed in 2007, but officials had to postpone the dedication ceremony after discovering a leak. Vorel said an April 2007 flood damaged the fountain, requiring more work be done.

The restoration cost $28,472, with $15,000 coming from the club and the city covering the rest, Vorel said.

The result, he said, is a “first-rate project.”

The monument includes the names of the three members who have died since the club’s founding in 1982, Downey said. Stone, an educator who spent more than 30 years at Texas Woman’s University, died in 2003. Puyear, a financial planner, died in 2006.

The club, which has 38 members, is considering putting aside money to add names to the monument as others die, Downey said.

The club is involved with a variety of community service projects, including a recent food drive for the Denton Community Food Center. It raises money by renting U.S. flags and distributing them across the city for five national holidays.

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com  .