CROTHERSVILLE
After reviewing bids submitted by two companies to paint Crothersville’s water tower, the town engineer noticed a few differences.
Brad Bender with FPBH Inc. said perhaps the biggest difference is Suez will install a mixer, which ensures the temperature and chlorine in the water will stay unified at all times. Pittsburg Tank & Tower Group, on the other hand, doesn’t install mixers.
Also, Bender said the upfront cost with Suez is much less than Pittsburg, although the long-term cost came out pretty close. Suez will bill the town $51,242 annually for the first five years, and then it would remain around $20,000 per year from that point. Pittsburg would charge an upfront cost of $185,000.
The town council liked the fact that Suez had someone come to Crothersville to inspect the tower, while Pittsburg never sent a representative to look at it. Suez also is the only one that has been present at council meetings.
The council also liked how Suez has worked on nearly 100 water towers in Indiana. According to its paperwork, Pittsburg has worked on only one in the Hoosier State.
Based on the performance-based evaluation, Bender recommended awarding the project to Suez.
“I think based on the long-term finance plan and the initial capital investment, Suez is by far the better of the two,” he told the council before it unanimously approved the contract during a recent meeting.
The fixed-fee asset management program allows Crothersville to spread the cost out and enter into a lifetime maintenance program. The annual cost will come out of the town’s water budget for repairs and maintenance.
Since it’s an evergreen contract, the town is the only one that can opt out of it, said Marc Hansen, a sales engineer with Suez.
“We can never get out of the contract,” he said.
Starting with the second year of the contract, he said the town would be paying for the next paint job of the 130-foot-tall, 300,000-gallon steel water tower. The exterior of the tower needs to be painted every 11 years, and the interior will need to be painted every 15 years, Hansen said.
The original coat of paint on the 20-year-old tank is chalking and flaking, and Street/Water Superintendent Chris Mains said it could have started rusting if something wasn’t done. Mold also has formed on the underside of the tank.
Hansen said the work potentially could start in September, but it’s weather-dependent.
With the exterior of the tower, there will be two coats of paint before retracing the town’s name on the tank and adding two Tiger logos.
The inside of the tank will be blasted down to the steel, and then two coats of epoxy will be applied.
Along with the mixer, an internal ladder will be installed so it can be used to power wash the inside of the tank every three years.
The exterior cable ladder also will be upgraded so the tower can be safely inspected every year. A certified inspector will produce a written report.