The future of the massive, aging fountain has been hotly debated as a dramatic $32.5 million renovation of the plaza gets underway. The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, which oversees the plaza, wants it removed, but a group of ardent supporters — including its creator, 96-year-old Canadian sculptor Armand Vaillancourt — insist that it should be renovated and remain at the center of the plaza.

Under the plan, to be formally requested of the San Francisco Arts Commission at its monthly hearing Monday, the park department would pay the estimated $4.4 million cost to have the 710-ton sculpture disassembled and moved to off-site storage for up to three years, while the artwork’s permanent fate is determined. If the arts commission approves the temporary removal, it could begin in 90 days.

The park department is seeking to expedite removal because the security fencing has been consistently breached and people are sleeping in the fountain’s concrete tubes, department spokesperson Tamara Aparton told the Chronicle this week. The piece has also been vandalized and tagged with graffiti, she said.

Estimates are that it would cost $29 million to fully restore the sculpture and fountain, as opposed to $2.5 million to remove it, and $4.4 million to disassemble and store it.

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