But Heritage New Zealand says given the significance of the statue it hopes the community and the council will see the restoration project through.
Councillors recently expressed concern at the cost of the project after they learnt restoring and lighting the 105-year-old Italian marble fountain in the Oamaru Public Gardens was expected to cost $165,000.
The council approved $75,000 a year ago to restore the deteriorating fountain, which was removed from the garden last year.
Community services committee chairman Cr Hugh Perkins said he did not feel confident the fountain, which failed in the 1990s and was turned off, would last for another 25 years once the work was done.
''I think if costs get out of control, it's sensible to review them and see if it still constitutes value for money,'' he said this week.
''If we could come in with a fountain of Italian marble, of a similar scale, but brand new, why wouldn't we, really?''
Cr Perkins noted the fountain, a gift to Oamaru by James Craig, of James Craig and Co Timber Merchants in 1912, was not a one-of-a-kind but an ''off-the-peg gigantic souvenir of Italy which really affluent tourists could avail themselves of''.
Cr Guy Percival called the project, a ''debacle'' and questioned how $28,000 had been spent investigating the fountain's restoration, and until recently the council had not known the plinth it stood on was not solid concrete, but rather was a concrete shell filled with sand.
''The late Mr Craig would have been supportive of doing something, but as a businessman he would be questioning where the costs are coming in and the duration [of the project].''
The restoration investigation revealed costs would be considerably higher than initially thought.
The biggest cost increases were: structural work required for the plinth, not originally in the budget and estimated to be $11,000; supplying and installing a 35mm cable for power supply, previously unbudgeted, at $17,000; and lighting at $21,000.
The council had already spent $39,600 on the fountain last year to dismantle it.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said he believed the longevity of the fountain would not be an issue if it were to be restored.
The council had examined options to replace the fountain, he said, and he believed costs would remain similar.
Council recreation manager Erik van der Spek said the recommendation going to the council on September 13 would not include options for replacement.
In 1994, the fountain was registered as a Category II historic place for cultural significance.
The council and Heritage New Zealand had been in consultation about the fountain since 2012, Heritage New Zealand Otago-Southland area manager Jonathan Howard, of Dunedin, said.
He said he hoped the council would continue with the restoration work ''given the significance'' of the fountain.
''If other options have to be considered I am sure the Waitaki District Council will be consulting with us further.''
