Water was on the minds of the Niles Township Board of Trustees, which commissioned a study of the township’s water rates and took the first steps toward replacing a failed well at Monday’s regular meeting.

Jim Ringler, Township Treasurer, said the municipality’s No. 3 well — located at Fulkerson Park — has been down for more than a year after customers reported sand in their water. An examination of the well — one of three main wells in the township — found that it had deteriorated to the point where it was pumping sand and water, and needs to be replaced.

Peerless Midwest, of Mishawaka, Indiana, — a company the township has used for many years — provided an estimate of more than $100,000 for replacement work.

A motion to allow Peerless Midwest to do the work failed after several board members (Herschel Hoese, Ringler, Chris Vella and Dick Cooper) indicated they would like to seek competitive bids for the project.

Supervisor Jim Stover said Peerless Midwest has done great work for the township in the past and that going with them now would speed up the process of getting the well replaced.

In the end, the board decided to seek competitive bids for the replacement of the well.

Also Monday, the board authorized Tom Traciak, of Umbaugh (Plymouth, Indiana), to do a study of the township’s water rates in anticipation of an estimated $500,000 project to repaint the water tower.

Ringler said the township doesn’t have the money to pay for the project, so it needs to find ways to fund it. One way would be to increase water rates.

Ringler said the $2,500 study would produce answers to the following questions:

• What are the rates now?

• What would the rates need to be to pay for the project over the course of several years?

• What impact would it have on customers?

Also Monday:

• The board learned it had received an invitation from the leader of a local Buddhist temple to attend a Catina Ceremony at 11 a.m. Oct. 11 at 1564 S. 3rd St., Niles.

• The board accepted Eric Robinson as a new volunteer firefighter, pending a physical.

• The board voted to examine recent charges for cleaning up the Indiana-Michigan River Valley Trail. The bill came in at $6,773.56 — about $600 more than what was originally agreed upon.

• Vella informed the board that a draft of a park and trails ordinance for the River Valley Trail is in the works.

• Stover said the township should be proud of the outcome of a project to restore and improve Chamberlain Road.

• Set the assessments for the following funds: general fund, fire operation and maintenance, fire capital, street lighting and Berrien County Sherriff’s Department.