Calexico water tower to receive structural assessment
CALEXICO — The city water tower located on East First Street will be receiving some needed attention, as it will be receiving a structural engineering assessment.
The Calexico City Council on Nov. 18 awarded a contract to Horrocks Engineering Inc. to perform the inspection.
On Monday, the city issued its notice to proceed. Horrocks is scheduled to finish and report no later than Feb. 22, Calexico City Manager Miguel Figueroa said.
This assessment will come at a time when the city is finalizing a 55-year lease on the tower.
Water tower no more
The city owns the property at 352 E. First St., where the city-owned water is situated.
The tower was first installed in 1949 and provided the city with water storage for many years.
“The water tower also serves as an important city landmark, welcoming visitors into the city,” Figueroa said.
As the decades passed, the tower stopped being used for water storage. It was eventually turned into a structure leased by telecommunications companies to support wireless antennas.
For more than two decades, the city has entered into contracts with various wireless carriers, such as AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon, and with Customs and Border Protection to allow the placement of wireless antennas and equipment on the tower and on the ground below the tower.
Collectively, these contracts generate a little more than $85,000 in annual lease revenues, a city staff report stated.
The evolution of the tower
In May 2019, the city discovered a structural defect in one of the support footings of the tower (specifically, the need to bolt down one of the tower’s legs).
Soon after, the City Council authorized immediate repairs to the tower to stabilize the footing.
After the repairs were done, the city in August 2019 hired Malouf Engineering International to complete a structural analysis based on photos of the repairs only.
The engineer did not do a site visit, Figueroa explained. This is why the council awarded the contract to Horrocks to perform a full inspection.
Maintaining the tower’s roots
With the tower’s longterm viability in mind, the city originally intended to convey the water tower to a third party to operate, maintain, improve and retrofit, as well as assume all existing leases.
In April, the city released a Request for Proposals for that purpose, and received several proposals, Figueroa said.
Specifically, the city set out an RFP for a 55-year easement for the tower and underlying land, with the city retaining ownership of the tower and still being responsible for maintaining it.
Per the easement terms, the city will forgo any lease payments from existing tenants on the site for the term of the easement, but if new tenants are added, the city may receive 70 percent of those revenues.
In July, the City Council approved to award the contract to the highest bidder, SBA Site Management, a cell tower infrastructure management company, which had a bid of $1.51 million.
One of the terms of the easement is that the city will remain responsible for any repair of structural defects.
This will test whether the easement deal is a win for the city, as the pending structural assessment could potentially reveal need for a costly repair.
Per the easement terms, the city retains protection of the landmark status of the water tower, including the color and the “City of Calexico” name on the water tank.
Additionally, the city reserves the right to use the water tower for its equipment at no charge.
The transaction with SBA still hasn’t closed, Figueroa explained Wednesday.
“They (SBA) are required to keep the tower as it currently appears, and are not permitted to put any advertisements on the tower,” Figueroa said. “This transaction is in the final due diligence phase.”
Meanwhile, the city is proceeding with the inspection contract with the goal of preserving the tower as a city landmark.
Horrocks will be conducting a full structural assessment of the tower and preparing a report. If necessary, Horrocks will also prepare engineering plans and specifications for retrofitting the tower to ensure compliance with applicable industry standards, a city staff report stated.
The city will be paying Horrocks $16,532 to complete the structural assessment and report, and an additional $22,494 if retrofitting proves necessary.
“It’s been a long process, but we’ve made sure to cover every angle and make sure that nothing slips through the cracks just because it’s a very sensitive matter,” Figueroa said. “Let’s not forget that the water tower, for our community, is an iconic figure, which we want to make sure that we maintain that way. Therefore, we want to make sure that we do this transaction the proper way.”