Water tower painting bids are confusing

"It's not apples to apples. It's confusing."

That was Royal Mayor Josh Toft's comment during the August city council meeting as he passed out bid sheets for painting and repairing the water tower.

As anticipated, three companies did submit bids. However, they were not consistent in terms of the work they proposed to do to the tower.

One proposal called for inspecting and painting the tower and 30,000-gallon tank, which is what the council wants to have done. Another bid covered replacing the ladder and installing another door on the tank; disinfecting and cleaning the tank interior; and sandblasting and painting the exterior.7

The third bid proposed painting the interior of the tank every four years and inspecting the structure every seven.

Toft expressed concern that contractors who hadn't inspected the water tower in advance would find more issues. He also wondered if the city should spend that much money on a water tower that one contractor said had reached 80 percent of its useful life.

"It's one of those things you don't want to break and then fix it," he acknowledged. "You don't want to do that."

"If it gets rusty, we'd have to sandblast it," said Maintenance Superintendent Sherman Nielsen.

Council members decided to ask the three contractors to resubmit proposals to meet the city's requirements for the project.

"We don't have enough information to make a decision. We have to have enough so we can compare apples to apples," Toft said.

Water loss was again a topic of discussion. The loss rate for July was 12 percent which compares to 18 percent for June. Water loss is the difference between the number of gallons purchased from Iowa Lakes Regional Water and the metered use by customers during the same period.

Nielsen had previously said the loss rate should be higher in the summer due to a variety of factors, and there are no signs of underground leaks. He suggests the problem could be a meter at Clay Central/Everly Elementary that is not working properly.

A two-inch replacement meter will cost $1,086. Nielsen said delivery could be delayed until November or December, so the timing of installation is not certain.

"I can't guarantee it will fix it. It points to that, but I can't say for sure," he admitted.

Council members felt replacing the meter was worth the cost.

"My opinion is we take the risk and replace it," said Council Member Jeff Van Westen.

Council Member Jim Virelli observed that if a new meter will accurately record the school's water use, "It will pay for itself quick."

In other business, a snow pusher has been ordered, but it may not be available for up to three months due to a delay in obtaining a component.

City Clerk Barb Fletcher said some property owners have not signed for nuisance abatement notices prepared by Northwest Iowa Planning and Development.

"It's not going as well as we hoped," she said.

The council agreed to ask the Clay County Sheriff's Office to deliver the notices that are not signed for at the post office.

• Royal receives $8,016 grant from ILRTF

The Iowa Living Roadway Trust Fund has awarded a grant totaling $8,016 to the City of Royal. The funds will go toward the purchase of a chipper and chain saw.

The city requested $11,800, which is the total cost of the equipment. While the final award amount is short of the goal, no one is complaining.

"We didn't get as much as we wanted, but that will go a long way to help with it," Fletcher said.

Royal was previously awarded a grant by the Clay County Community Foundation to pay a portion of the cost of a warning siren. The city will apply the $10,000 grant toward the purchase of the siren, which has been ordered.