The Utilities Committee met 05/27/2025. They had one action item on the agenda which was the request to award the tower coating contract for the water towers on North and Ridgeway to O&J Coatings Inc for a total, including contingent, of $656,250. The committee voted unanimously to recommend the contract be awarded as requested.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
Per Utilities Director Chris Stempa, the DNR requires that water towers be inspected internally every 5 years to make sure they are structurally sound. Both the North tower near Ballard and the tower on Ridgeway near Northland were last recoated 25 years ago. They underwent spot repairs in 2020, but are now due to be completely recoated. The city bundled the two project together even though it was less convenient for water utility operations because it was financially advantageous.
The city budgeted around $1.5 million for the project and received 8 bids for the project to recoat the two water towers ranging from $625,000 by O&J Coatings all the way up to $1,718,800 by TMI Coatings. The city had initially thought one of the towers had lead based paint in it which would have driven up the cost of recoating it, but a retest came back negative for lead which helped lower the overall cost of the project.
There was a question about why the bids varied in price so much. Director Stempa thought it was probably due to the schedule availability of the various companies and who was most hungry for the job. The highest bidder, TMI, had done work for Appleton before and had done that work well; Direct Stempa thought their high bid was probably and indication that they would find the time to do the project if awarded it but were busy and did not need the project. Director Stempa told the committee that O&J Coatings, the company with the lowest bid, is based in Texas and has not done work for Appleton in the past but has very good reviews.
The plan was to have the towers recoated by the end of fall before the weather got too cold.
Alderperson Vered Meltzer (District 2) asked what the timeline was for recoating future towers. Director Stempa indicated that the water tower by Matthias and the one by Glendale were up for work next, probably in 2026. He noted that the tower by Matthias Street needed to have some larger booster pumps installed in addition to being recoated. The water plant used to be located down in the flats where Ellen Kort Peace Park now sits but has since been moved to Manitowoc Road which is closer to the Matthias Street water tower than the old water treatment plant was. That has resulted in pressure changes in the water tower and the need for larger water pumps in that tower.
Director Stempa also mentioned that the tower on Oneida Street no longer holds water, but it does house cell tower equipment, so the city does still need to inspect it and keep its coating updated to maintain both its aesthetics and structural integrity.
The committee voted unanimously to recommend the recoating contract be awarded to O&J Coatings.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1305807&GUID=5115A8BD-F4F8-4646-BC84-24A1B16FFD58
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