The Williston Park water tower will turn 90 this year.
While the Syracuse Street water tower went through a rehabilitation project 25 years ago, and minor tweaks were made in 2016, Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar said the time has come for a new tower.
Other parts of the water system, including the ground level tank on Williams Street and the electrical system, have been upgraded over the past seven years, Ehrbar said during Monday night’s board meeting.
The only remaining piece to fix is the biggest one, he said.
“We’d like to just put a slap of coat of paint on it and move on but obviously we can’t do that,” Ehrbar said.
Bill Merklin of D&B Engineers and Architects outlined different approaches the village could take.
Merklin said he suggests the village replace the tower with a new elevated water tower, similar to the one that stands today but with updated technology. Other options are to replace the tower with a ground level tank, like the one on Williams Street, or to try and rehabilitate the tower again, Merklin said.
The initial cost of a new elevated tank is the highest, at approximately $6.9 million, according to Merklin. A rehabilitation project would cost $4.2 million and a ground level tank would cost $3.9 million.
However, Merklin said even with a $4 million rehabilitation the tower will still need to be replaced in 15 to 20 years.
“If you look at it over the course of 20 years you’re certainly not saving anything,” Merklin said. “In fact the cost of a new tank would be much higher in 20 years than it is now.”
Similarly, while the ground level tank is the cheapest option initially, the annual operations and maintenance costs are significantly higher than an elevated tank, Merklin said. On an annual basis based on a 40-year life cycle, the annual operations and maintenance cost for a ground level tank would be more than $1.2 million, and for a rehabilitated tank it would be $795,000, Merklin said.
The annual operations and maintenance cost for a new elevated tank is $371,000, according to Merklin.
Including the operations and maintenance costs the new elevated tank is the cheapest option, according to Merklin, with an annual cost of $658,000 as opposed to the ground tank at $1.4 million and the rehabilitated tank at $969,000.
If the village decides on an option and design this month, the bids could begin going out by next summer, Merklin said. From there, construction would start after Labor Day with the goal of being completed before the summer of 2019.
During construction Williston Park will receive assistance from a neighboring village, likely either Albertson or Mineola, Ehrbar said.
Williston Park, which also supplies water for East Williston, will be the sole owner of the tower as it is now, Ehrbar said. Williston Park Trustee Teresa Thomann said East Williston is a “customer, they do not own our system.”
East Williston will pay a portion toward the construction, Ehbrar said, adding that he has met with and discussed the project with East Williston Mayor David Tanner.
The board has yet to make a final decision, but if a new tower is built Merklin said he sees no reason why it would not last another 90 years.
Correction: A previous version of this article states that Ehbrar met and made agreements with Tanner. Ehbrar said that he met and discussed the project with Tanner.
