Redkey water tower leaking (08/24/06)

REDKEY - Water problems continue bubbling to the surface.

Building a new, larger water tank in the long run, and stopping the town's approximately 80-year-old present tank from leaking in the short run - plus looking for ways to be able to afford both projects - were the main focus of attention at a special Redkey council meeting Wednesday afternoon.

After an hour-long discussion, no action was taken on the leaks. Another special meeting will be scheduled after more information is provided to town council members.

At last week's council meeting, major topics of discussion included past-due water bills and why the town's water department account was in the red. Some good news was also reported: The water tower and tank had been painted on the inside and outside in addition to having leaks welded and repaired.

Those repairs and painting cost the town $17,900 and the vintage tank, which the town purchased used in the 1920s, was no longer leaking.

That changed Sunday night.

Police reported that water and some of the new coating which had been put on the inside of the tank had begun leaking.

In attendance Wednesday was a representative from Leary Construction Co., Inc., of Greenfield, the firm which had done the painting and repair work on the tower and tank two weeks ago. He explained that the new leak was coming from a spot which had previously shown pitting problems when the repairs were done, but was not leaking at that time.

Due to cost factors, no efforts were made to deal with that location as well as numerous other potential problem areas. Council member and town employee Violet Erlenbush said she was told there were hundreds of spots where holes in the tank could possibly develop over the next few years because of pitting problems.

Leary representative Bill Reimann said that while the new leak didn't come as a surprise to Leary employees - "The two-week factor; that was a surprise to us."

Also present Wednesday were Redkey clerk-treasurer Sandy Kirby and council members, as well as Commonwealth Engineering representatives Wayne Bailey and Steven Bender, several local residents, and State Rep. Bill Davis, R-Portland, who represents the Redkey area.

Rep. Davis said there was a possibility Redkey could qualify to obtain an emergency loan for water tower-related expenses. Davis said that several months ago he had been in contact with the state treasurer's office about obtaining a $40,000 emergency loan for the town, and he believed that this was still a possibility.

Davis said he'd be more than happy to contact the treasurer's office again on Redkey's behalf.

Redkey council president Dottie Quakenbush requested that the town attorney look into Davis' proposal. Also present at Wednesday's meeting was Leslie Horn, a lawyer with town attorney John Brooke's office, who agreed to tell Brooke about the offer and check further with Davis and the Indiana treasurer's office.

Meanwhile, Bailey said a new, larger water tank was really needed as the present tank has a capacity of 75,000 gallons but the town uses approximately 125,000 gallons of water a day.

Commonwealth Engineering was retained by the town at last week's regular meeting to perform an environmental assessment of the area and do the preliminary engineering work for such a project. Total cost for that work will be $7,500, funded partially by a $5,700 United States Department of Agriculture grant and $1,800 in matching funds from the town. Bailey estimated that the present tower and tank needed to last another 18 months, as a new, larger tank probably could not be built and ready, prior to that time.

Meanwhile the cost to repair the newest leak in the old tank was estimated at $2,475 by Leary representative Reimann.

"A critical issue is time," Bailey said, as he asked: "Can the present tank last 18 months?"

Reimann said that even when the current leak is repaired, there would still be a potential for more leaks in the future.

The Leary representative said that a 10-year maintenance contract could be purchased from Leary at a cost of $6,680 a year.

Several council members and clerk-treasurer Kirby questioned the idea of signing a 10-year contract when a new water tank was being planned and potentially could be ready for use in about two years.

Reimann said the town's choice boiled down to paying "$2,500 every so often," versus signing the 10-year maintenance contract for $6,680 a year and having any future leaks repaired without any additional charges during the 10-year period.

Quakenbush asked: "What if in the fourth year of the 10-year agreement, we have a new water tank up and going - do we have to stick to the 10-year contract?" What would be the cost of terminating that agreement early?

Following more discussion Reimann said that he would check with other Leary officials to determine what it would cost to change the 10-year contract to a five-year agreement, as well as what sort of penalty might be charged if the town dropped the contract early.[[In-content Ad]]