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NILES -- Two of the city's water towers have rust inside, and the water department director is asking for permission to enter into a long-term maintenance agreement to keep up on the work.
Records describing the maintenance of the city's water towers is incomplete or missing, said Andy Catanzarite, the department head.
Since he took the lead of the department about two years ago, Catanzarite said he has been looking for records and a solution to keep up on the towers without breaking the bank. Catanzarite said work needs to be done to protect the towers, one of the water system's biggest asset.
He invited Dan Frum, a water systems consultant with Utility Service Group, to describe the options his company offers -- already in use by communities like Youngstown and Lordstown.
The company would spread out the major costs of the initial work that needs to be done over five years, costing $192,000 for the northern Ridge Road tank and $143,000 for the Deer Trail tank. Then the company charges a lower annual maintenance fee for services over the next 10 years.
Frum said the system moves the risk into the hands of the their company because a contractor's one-time costs -- which could be more than $1 million -- doesn't include any upkeep and the guarantee usually lasts a year. If the city were to sign contracts with the company, it would pay for emergency repairs, inspections, cleanings, chemical cleanings, touch-up work, and guarantees all of it work, including the coats of protective material it paints on it, for the life of the contract.
The company has visually inspected the city's towers for free.
With photographs, Frum showed City Council's utility committee rust on the inside of both towers and some on the outside of the the Ridge Road, which he said is in dire need of work. There are signs the layers of protective coating has eroded completely away in some areas, Frum said. It is normal for towers to have some rust, Frum said, but to keep it from getting worse, works needs to be done soon, he said.
Catanzarite said it is unknown when the towers were last coated.
If the city signs on, the company would blast the paint off on the inside and outside of the Ridge Road tower, and just on the inside for the Deer Trail tower. The company would then use two coats of a zinc primer and an epoxy to seal it, while spot fixing the most eroded areas, replacing climbing equipment, adding a mixing system to keep the water inside constantly moving, and would even come out to remove graffiti or to patch a bullet hole, Frum said.
If the city stays with the company for multiple cycles, the city will compound savings over decades, Frum said. The company also will keep the towers in line with ever-changing standards from the Environmental Protection Agency, Frum said.
Catanzarite said the move would be proactive rather than reactive, but it still address issues at the towers that should be addressed immediately.
The work can't be completed until warmer weather, and council would have to authorize a contract.