Niles Township to assess water tower
Published 9:09 am Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Niles Township’s elevated water storage tank is about to get a checkup in advance of what officials estimate will be a $500,000 restoration project.
On Monday, township trustees voted to approve a contract agreement with Dixon Engineering, of Lake Odessa, to perform an assessment of the water tank.
Treasurer Jim Ringler said Dixon is a company that specializes in the evaluation of water tanks, including the structural integrity of a tank and the condition of its interior and exterior paint.
The cost of the evaluation is not to exceed $2,000.
Based on what Dixon finds, Ringler said the township could expect to spend around $500,000 to restore the tower, including painting the inside and outside of the tank.
“Typically these type of projects are paid for out of the utility department so we will have to evaluate where we are at, what we have and do the things that need to be done,” Ringler said.
Although the evaluation is expected to take place this summer, Ringler said the restoration of the tower wouldn’t happen until 2015.
Also Monday, Trent Babcock, of the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department, told the council that in the month of February there were 40 traffic accidents and a total of 240 complaints. Babcock also said his office has seen an increase of seasonal complaints, including neighbor disputes and items missing from vehicles that were left unlocked.
Babcock also said that Wal-Mart has been the target of early-morning thefts. The thefts occur around 3 a.m. when a driver drops off a passenger, who loads up a cart and leaves without paying.