Repair Project to City's Cracked Water Tank Expected To Begin Monday
Committee Now Seeks Paintball Course in City
By Ryan Schlehuber

The two-to-three-day repair project for the St. Ignace city water tank in Evergreen Shores is expected to begin Monday, July 9, said Public Works Director Les Therrian during a city council meeting Monday, July 2.

Expectations are high, both for residents who live near the tank and for city officials, to fix the empty tank, which suffered a crack near its base during a February blizzard.

A 26-foot extension had been added to the tank by Pittsburgh Tank and Tower (PT&T) last year. Owing to either weak steel or bad planning, the tank could not resist the high winds that pounded the area during the storm. Three family homes were evacuated at that time owing to the threat of the tank collapsing.

Dixon Engineering, the city's consulting firm for the project, is overseeing PT&T's repair plans.

The plans call for one fixture, shaped like a halo, said Mr. Therrian, about an inch-and-a-half thick, to be welded on the inside of tank, in the base, and one fixture, about one inch thick, to be placed outside the tank, also near the base.

Engineers favored this plan over a proposal to wrap a steel shroud around the weak area, a suggestion made by local industrial technology engineer Fred Schlehuber, Mr. Therrian said, owing to the difficulty of securing a shroud to the base. Dr. Schlehuber has yet to see the newest plans, said Mr. Therrian.

Dixon engineers are confident the PT&T plans will work for a permanent repair, Mr. Therrian told Council, however, questions still linger as to how the extension failed in the first place. PT&T has yet to produce a sufficient failure analysis of the tank's extension piece.

"We don't want this to happen again," said Councilman Willie LaLonde. "Shouldn't we know what happened before we fix it?"

Mr. Therrian said the old plan and the new plan are "two different animals," however, he said, he will contact Dixon Engineering about the issue.

Bill Dixon, CEO of Dixon Engineering, told Mr. Therrian that PT&T's miscalculations of the repairs were caused by a flaw in a computer program the company used. The new repair plans were checked through a computer analysis program and by hand, said Mr. Therrian.

"We still have the power to not accept the final work on the tank," said Mr. Therrian, who reminded Council that the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, which funded the project, is withholding final payments to PT&T until the repair is done and the city is satisfied with it.

Brian Schlehuber, an evacuated resident, who supports the idea of adding a "new skin," or shroud, to the tank, firmly stated that the city must keep heavy scrutiny on PT&T.

Pittsburgh Tank "would've left it like it was," said Mr. Schlehuber. "They are going to try and get out of this as cheaply as possible. I strongly recommend that you hold them to the task because it will eventually be your responsibility.

"Ten years from now," he continued, "if the perfect storm hits, it could come down, and it will be your baby then. I am hoping you're going to do the right thing."

Dixon Engineering will be on site to inspect repairs, said Mr. Therrian, and Council will get a full report from Dixon.

In other business, City Manager Eric Dodson will contact the ad hoc committee made up of residents seeking to create a paintball course in the area, to ask them for a written request for the course.

Plans to build a paintball course at St. Ignace Township's Silver Mountain Ski Hill were not favorable to its insurance carrier, Mr. Dodson reported. The committee now seeks to create a course either at Little Bear East Arena and Community Center or at McCann Field.

No committee member was present at the meeting.

Council approved a request by Eugene Elmer, marina director, to purchase a power washer for $781 to clean the Wawatam Lighthouse at Chief Wawatam Park. The purchase will be fully funded by donated money left over from the fundraising campaign to build the lighthouse, Mr. Dodson said, which was completed last summer.

Mr. Dodson and Mayor Paul Grondin briefly spoke of the mayor exchange program that took place with officials from Mackinaw City last week. Each group took a day to tour the other municipality's community and facilities.

"It was a great opportunity to look and learn about other communities," said Mr. Dodson. "It helped create new ideas for our community, such as pocket parks. Mackinaw City has benches and little parks at the end of each street. It's a neat idea."

Mayor Grondin received a framed photograph of the Mackinac Bridge from the Mackinaw City officials and a letter from Village President Robert Heilman thanking them for the chance to participate in the exchange program.

Mayor Grondin opened three letters for bids on re-roofing the water plant. Mr. Therrian, Mr. Dodson, and City Engineer Brian Olsen will review the bids and present a recommended choice to Council at its next meeting July 16.

Wilcox Construction of Cedarville presented the lowest bid at $20,000. Huskey Construction of St. Ignace offered its services for $20,620. Cryderman Builders of St. Ignace offered to take on the project for $21,700.

Council accepted the insurance committee's recommendation to renew its contract with its insurance carrier, Michigan Municipal Risk Management, for $87,643, which is $100 more than the nowexpired contract. The one-year contract became effective July 1. Mr. Dodson said the city will receive a rebate check of $20,000 from the company, as well.