New Richmond water tower ready for a facelift

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New Richmond’s downtown water tower will be completely rehabilitated this spring.

During its Feb. 7 meeting, the New Richmond Utilities Commission approved the low bid for rehabilitation work.

Jetco Limited will be paid $339,620 to clean the water tower inside and out, as well as repaint the structure. The words “New Richmond” or the new city logo may be painted on the face of the tower, but the City Council will have to decide how to proceed with that item.

Four other bids received on the project were considerably higher (from $404,000 to $512,000 for the base bid).

According to City Administrator and Utilities Manager Dennis Horner, the water tower work will be completed in April.

“We want it done before Lakeside Foods (a major water user in the community) gets real busy,” he said.

The city has been exploring the possible construction of a new water tower for several years, but Horner said siting issues and the high cost of a new tower (estimated at $1 million or more) made that option unaffordable.

The rehabilitation of the present tower will extend the life of the structure, Horner said.

The funds for the project will come from reserve funds within the New Richmond Utilities Department.

“We’ve saved up some money for it,” Horner said.

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