It’s a tall order, but somebody has to do it. At its meeting Tuesday, March 15, the Thief River Falls City Council accepted the low bid for the cleaning, repairing and painting of the city’s western water tower.
Viking Industrial Painting had the low bid of $479,900. Other bidders included JR Stelzer Company, $525,960; Osseo Construction Company LLC, $565,200; Classic Protective Coatings Inc., $578,950; M.K. Painting Inc., $643,000; TMI Coatings Inc., $715,900; and Tankez Coatings, $750,000.
Water Systems Superintendent Wayne Johnson said the consultant was surprised by the number of bidders since there are usually only three bids for such a project. Johnson said there were more bids due to the clean tower and the amount of property available for staging.
As part of the project, the outside of the water tower will be painted vapor mist instead of robin egg blue. The water tower will also feature “Thief River Falls” with a horizontal depiction of rivers. The interior of the water tower will also be painted. The project will be completed this summer.
The engineering portion of the project, which includes an inspection, is expected to total $101,898. The city is expected to bond for the project in the future.
The interior epoxy coating of the 500,000-gallon west water tower is deteriorating. Its exterior was last reconditioned in 1995, which is past its life expectancy of 25 years.
The city’s east side water tower, which is located at Lions Park, is set to be reconditioned in the next five or six years.