The City of Mendenhall is continuing to make progress on the water tank project on Highway 43 and has intentions of entering a water tank maintenance program.
During the latest Mendenhall city board meeting, Barret Stanley of American Tank Maintenance appeared to speak on tank maintenance.
The company is headquartered in Georgia but has offices in Jackson. Stanley fielded questions from the board, and Alderman Tim Gray asked whether, if anything malfunctioned or damaged the tanks, the city would be responsible for repairs. Stanley assured him that once a contract is signed with his company, American Tank Maintenance assumes all responsibility for the water tanks on the contract.
Stanley climbed and inspected all of the towers in Mendenhall and provided the city with a 5 year plan for maintenance in September of 2020.
Stanley climbed all four towers and gave a description of their status.
The recently acquired tank located in the industrial park on Highway 43 received an excellent review. Stanley said the tank will last the city a long time once it becomes operational. He reported there are no leaks and the interior of the tank looks fine. He said there was minor corrosion on the top of the tank, but overall the tank was in excellent condition. Some chalking on the exterior indicated that the 250,000 gallon tank would need to be painted in the future.
American Tank Maintenance proposed a five year plan that would cover maintenance and repairs of all the water tanks in the city. Stanley said the services included painting the interior and exterior of the tanks and also general and emergency maintenance.
Stanley even offered to do a design on the school water tank of a Tiger to represent Mendenhall High School.
The initial proposal came to approximately $94,375, which would be spread over five years. This price would include a detailed maintenance schedule for all tanks, and would include painting three of the tanks within the first year. The tanks are not currently on a maintenance plan, but are regularly inspected according to MSDH guidelines to ensure the cleanliness of drinking water. There are no set guidelines by MSDH on servicing tanks and it is done as needed.
Mayor Todd Booths said, “We have to figure out some way to make our water budget pay for this and get our tanks on a maintenance plan.”
Booth said it was important to get on a maintenance plan to help extend the life of the water tanks around the city. He explained that Mendenhall like most cities does not have the personnel to climb and inspect towers. He said, “And when you don’t have people to climb and inspect every year and you keep putting it on the back burner it will eventually break.”
He stressed the importance of maintaining infrastructure, and after receiving positive reports on all of the city’s tanks Booth feels this is the right time to get on a maintenance program. At this time there are no major repairs needed on any of the water tanks.
The $94,375 was an initial quote, but the program was tailored to fit the city’s budget. Booth explained that the city will enter a 10 year contract with the first year only costing the city approximately $33,000. The price will gradually increase over the 10 year life of the agreement. Booth was proud that the city was able to reach an affordable agreement with the company. American Tank Maintenance will check the tanks every year and also wash them to ensure they are clean. The city will also get painting and regular maintenance services with the contract. The tanks are scheduled to be painted within the first four years of the contract.
Booth said, “We have to have professionals who know how to maintain our assets and have the means to repair them if need be.”
The board agreed to enter into the contract once it is reviewed by City Attorney Wesley Broadhead.
Booth said, “Our tanks are our biggest investments in our water system, and we’ve figured out a plan to protect our investments. We’re going back on a maintenance program to help our tanks last as long as they can before needing to be sand blasted.”
Sand blasting the tanks is a costly process that strips the paint and brings them back to bare metal for repairs.
Booth said, “If anything pops up wrong with the tanks they’ll take care of it. If we had to pay up front for repairs we’d have to pay twice the money, so being on this maintenance program will protect our investment for at least the next 10 years.”
