Cedartown finally finds contractor for water treatment plant paint work
The City of Cedartown will finally get to see work move forward to strip the layers of paint on the historic water treatment plant at Big Spring Park in the coming weeks.
The City Commission approved a bid during their June session to bring the building back to its original look with exposed brick, and to repair mortar that holds it all together.
City manager Bill Fann reported that he finally found this contractor – Prime Contractors - at a City Manager’s conference earlier in the year, and had them come to Cedartown to explain how the work might be done and assess the overall cost.
That price tag of $222,593.67 from Prime Contractors came in much lower than what Fann said the city set aside for paint removal and fixes, and said the work was set to start during the summer months and take 8 weeks to complete.
“They hope to get started in the next three to four weeks,” Fann said during the June 13 meeting. “We didn’t know what to budget for this, but it came in well under our expectations, which means we can use the savings elsewhere.”
He said part of the problem was finding a solution that would strip the paint yet not damage the brick, and a company that was accredited to be able to work on historic structures.
“By fall, we’ll hopefully have a wonderful looking Water Treatment plant,” Fann said.
Along with stripping and repair work, Prime Contractors will also take care of repainting any trim work on the exterior and interiors.
Work set to start on the water treatment plant will be joined by the renovation work on the spring canal draining water toward Cedar Creek, which is also set to start sometime in July according to Fann.
He said he met with the firm completing work – John Benefield Construction – earlier in the week and they asked to wait until the water levels have dropped to their lowest points during the hottest part of the summer before construction starts.
The work on the water treatment plant shouldn’t effect local residents from getting into the park while it remains open for the time being, Fann said.
A final cost for the project is still being tallied before work can begin, Fann said. The city made changes to the work requirements earlier last week when the firm met with the city, causing one more look at the figures before a bill is submitted for approval by the city commission.