Winter is coming and I’ve seen that done in both Wisconsin (my small hometown) and in Iowa (where I went to college). I just thought that the fountains didn’t have their own water shutoff valves, so this prevented the fountains from being used during the winter months when freezing temperatures could cause problems. Since the fountains were really only in demand during hot temperatures, no big deal.
Removing the service handle on a fountain does not prevent damage. They have to remove the supply (there must be a shutoff somewhere) and at least partially drain the fountain to prevent frozen pipes bursting.