Plans for a new Brainerd water tower near Lexington Manufacturing and the Crow Wing County Fairgrounds are moving forward.
The Brainerd Public Utilities Commission, at its Tuesday, July 31, meeting, learned about design concepts from Chad Katzenberger of Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc., and authorized him to post for bids.
Plans and specifications for two tank design possibilities are ready to go, Katzenberger said. The first is a composite style, which has previously been a more expensive option but has decreased in recent years due to rising popularity.
The second design option is a steel hydropillar style-a stout-based concrete monolith, much like the current Baxter water tower. Katzenberger said this option would have more expensive maintenance costs in the future because it would contain more steel that-compared to concrete-doesn't weather as well, losing its paint veneer more quickly.
The bids will outline the construction and long-term maintenance costs of each option.
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Commissioners will look over the bids at their Aug. 28 meeting. After the bids come in, Commissioner Dolly Matten said it would be nice to get citizen input on the final tower design-in one particular area, the color scheme and lettering to be featured on the side.
Katzenberger said construction would likely start this fall, depending on the weather. He said he expects most of the work to be done by spring 2019.
In other business Tuesday, the commission agreed to support a Minnesota Power grant application to establish DC fast charge electric vehicle charging stations along highways 210, 169 and 53 from Brainerd to Aitkin, Grand Rapids, Virginia and Duluth.
The letter of support commissioners agreed to sign states-should Minnesota Power receive the grant-BPU is willing to be a contributing partner in the construction of a charging station within the city of Brainerd.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will administer the $1.4 million grant.
