The Vinton City Council was in the middle of hearing about how to pay for a proposed $450,000 paint and repair project for the water tower on the city's west side, near Kiwanis Park, when the city's former water superintendent interrupted them with the news that the need for the project may have been overestimated.
At the last council meeting, the city leaders reviewed a report from a consultant that declared that paint chips from the tower tested positive for lead. Sand-blasting and repainting the tower will cost an estimated $450,000.
City Manager Chris Ward had begun listing some possible loan options to pay for the project when Gary Garwood spoke up from the back of the room.
Garwood recited the history of repair and painting projects on that tower since the 1980s. He told them the entire tower was painted with a Tnemec paint in 1991, and recited several other times city workers repaired, sandblasted and/or painted the tank in the past 35 years.
Lead paint has been prohibited since 1978; Garwood told the council he would be very surprised if a contractor had tried sneaking in lead paint in 1991.
Garwood said there may be some areas inside the "dry part" of the interior tank that have not been touched since 1968. He urged the city council to review records, which he said were in a room in city hall, of tower repair projects.
"Have it looked at again before you borrow $900,000," Garwood told the council, referring to the cost of repairing both city water towers. While the tower on the east side was recently cleaned, it has not been recently inspected.
Council member Zach Parmater told Garwood that at the last meeting, "no individual here could document when the towers were painted."
"This information needs to be brought to the Council," Parmater said.
Garwood recited several times when city employees, including him, had gone up to repair the tower. He said he once began fixing a leak by inserting a galvanized, 16-penny nail into a hole and sealing around the nail.
The city, said Garwood, should drain the tank and then inspect it. It is possible, he said, that repairing it could cost as much - or more - than the estimated $450,000.
"Before you decide how much going to cost, next spring have it drained, power washed and cleaned," he advised.
The current water Superintendent, Craig Walker, will be asked to review the city's water tower maintenance records and the council will address the towers again in the near future.
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