Fairhope water tower painting continuing with original contractor for now

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The work of painting the Fairhope water tower continues onward, as what was supposed to be a routine paint upgrade for the structure has turned into a controversial issue for city residents.

The painting project was supposed to be finished in June of this year, but issues with a subcontractor and difficulties finding workers to do the job have caused numerous delays in the project.

Compounding the issue is the removal of cell phone antennas that were attached to the water tower, which has lessened the effectiveness of cell service within certain parts of the city limits for more than a year.

At the Aug. 27 council meeting, the council voted unanimously to cancel the contract with the current contractor, given that the work was then only 15 to 20 percent complete.

“I think we’ve been more than fair to them,” Council President Jack Burrell said. “It’s not moving forward and it’s in disarray.”

As a result of that vote, the council looked to pull the bond for the contractor on the project and work with the bonding company to select a new company to finish the job.

However, at the Sept. 10 council meeting, Councilman Kevin Boone said he and Councilman Robert Brown recently met with Mayor Karin Wilson, Operations Director Richard Peterson and other staff members about the water tower painting and the work being done by the original contractor since being given notice by the city.

“The original contractor has come back to work threefold working on this tank,” Boone said. “I’d like to see us work with him so he can finish this project by December.”

Boone said changing contractors now could be problematic for the city.

“If we try to get another contractor, it’s likely they wouldn’t even get started until November or December, so there would be further delays,” Boone said. “I think we can get this tank thing back on the right track.”

City staff agreed that trying to move to a new company now could cause further delays in the project.