By Kim McDarison
Whitewater officials have released a request for proposals to four structural engineering firms, looking for alternatives that could help decide the fate of the 1889-built historical water tower in the city’s Starin Park.
According to information released by the city Friday, bids from the engineering firms are due back to the city by Sept. 23.
The tower has been a functioning component of the city’s water supply system since its construction.
In recent months, the city has been building a new water tower on its southwest side. The new tower is anticipated to come online in 2023. With the addition of the new tower, the city is planning to decommission the old tower.
During a city council meeting held in July, council members learned from Whitewater Director of Public Works Brad Marquardt and a representative from Cornerstone Restoration — a Sullivan-based company which had been hired to perform some tuck-pointing work on the tower’s 80-foot-tall stonemasonry elevation — that the tower was in need of structural attention.
Cornerstone representative Kyle O’Brien told the council that his company estimated work required to restore the tower would cost $968,800.
During the discussion, Council President Lisa Dawsey Smith said that while she was certain nobody wanted to see the old water tower razed, she acknowledged that restoration would be costly.
She told those in attendance during the July meeting that she had received an email from Kori Oberle, a member of the city’s Landmarks Commission, who cited the city of Fort Atkinson’s efforts to restore its 1901-built tower, finding support for their project through fundraising.
During public comments held during the July meeting, Oberle, members of the city’s Landmarks Commission, and members of the public expressed their interest in preserving the tower, talked about potential funding sources, and asked questions about the tower’s condition.
In July, then-City Manager Cameron Clapper said: “We have a tower here that is one of the oldest in the state of Wisconsin and something that we ought to dedicate more time and resources to discussing and determining the best course of action for it.”
An earlier story about the July council meeting and the tower-related discussion is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/whitewater-council-discusses-future-of-1889-build-water-tower/.
Within the request for proposals released by the city and announced Friday, Marquardt requested proposals to:
• assess the tower’s current structural viability to determine if it can be repaired or must be demolished.
• provide potential solutions for repairing the tower or for demolishing the tower, if necessary.
• provide cost estimates for all potential solutions.
• identify public safety measures to implement while awaiting restoration or demolition and removal, if necessary.
The city is anticipating the development of a full report by Dec. 2, according to its Friday release.
Additionally, the release states, Marquardt told the Landmarks Commission at its meeting Sept. 1, that funding for these professional services is available in the Water Utility’s current operating budget. He anticipates recommending a proposal to the council during its Oct. 18 meeting.
Some tower history
According to the release, The water tower in Starin Park has served the city for 133 years. It was constructed with locally quarried limestone and has been a local landmark, protected by city ordinance, since 2015.
As noted in the release, which quotes from a document titled: “Architectural and Historical Survey of Whitewater,” written by local historian Carol Cartwright in 2008, “The best example of stone construction in the city is the water tower in Starin Park … The regularly coursed rusticated limestone walls are laid up in stepped sections that expand from larger to smaller as the structure rises. The walls are accented with belt courses and round arches. Also historically significant, the water tower is distinctive for its stone construction and potentially eligible for the National Register.”
According to the release, during an earlier meeting, the city council directed the Whitewater Landmarks Commission to research restoration costs and potential funding sources to rehabilitate the tower. In response, the commission asked the council to secure professional structural analysis to determine if the water tower can be saved.
Members of the commission include Ben Adamitis, Patricia Blackmer, Karen Coburn, Kori Oberle and Dan Richardson, along with City Councilman Lukas Schreiber and city staff representative Olivia Pratt. The commission has one vacancy to be filled by a citizen.
Those interested in learning more about the tower, may contact Marquardt by phone: 262-473-0139 or email: bmarquardt@whitewater-wi.gov.
Those interested in learning more about the Landmarks Commission may contact its chairman: Patricia Blackmer, by phone: 262-458-2178 or email: blackmerpa@aol.com.
Nestled within the city of Whitewater’s Starin Park, the 1889-built stonemasonry water tower looms large above the treetops. According to informational signage in the park, the 100-foot-tall tower was built at the site because it is 50 feet higher than the surrounding area. The tower, which, as of 2020, is the second older municipal tower operating in Wisconsin, holds 185,000 gallons of water. File photo/Kim McDarison.
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I’m glad to find this article about the City’s efforts to save/preserve the watertower. It’s important to save relics from the City’s history. Too much has been lost from the Whitewater I grew up in! It would be great to see a fundraising campaign begun to generate the needed funds.