New Posen water tower gets coats of paint

The painting crew from Dave Cole Decorators of Grand Rapids were putting the final touches on the 75,000 gallon water tower this week in Posen. People living in the area have watched the crew slowly but surely paint the tower three times over the last few weeks.

There have been some minor delays because of the rain last week, but for the most part, it?s been a problem-free project. The tower has already changed the skyline of the village, as the structure can be seen from five to six miles away, but when completed, it?ll have a high gloss white finish, with ?Posen? painted on two sides in candy apple red: on the north and south side.

FOREMAN NICK JULIAN says his firm has done water towers of all shapes and sizes, and the Posen project is relatively small compared to some of the structures they?ve worked on. ?It?s been nice,? said Julian.

The firm painted the huge tower at Cabela?s in southern Michigan, a 1.5 million gallon tank in Zeeland, and will next be in Harrison next. Their last project was at the Turtle Creek Resort near Traverse City. Working from baskets, with lines secured to the roof of the water tower, workers paint each section around them, moving from the base to the top. The method for painting is nothing more than a roller on a long pole, but it gets complicated when they have to pull the pole in, to dip the end in the bucket of paint. In all, the Posen water tower needs 150 gallons of paint to complete.

FORMER AIRBORNE RANGER Doug Stricker was in the basket painting the ?bubble? portion of the tower last Wednesday, spending several hours on it, without a break. Julian said winds don?t slow jobs, usually. ?I?ve been up at 50 miles per hour,? he said. ?You just have to make sure you?re tied in.? Julian said he?s been in the business for 15 years with some ?close calls,? but his firm has only had minor mishaps ? more from the sandblaster than from falls. Also, for safet

y reasons, MiOCEA recommends a crew member remain on the ground to monitor the progress of others. Baskets have been known to get hung up in the air.

ON JULY 9, a paint inspector from Lansing, working for Rowe Engineering, visited the site. The inspection seemed routine. Inspector Roger Grieve checked the thickness of the coats of paint to ensure they were meeting the specifications agreed upon in the contract. He also checked the equipment and the conditions for painting. When Grieve was at the site, the conditions were ideal. Grieve also recorded paint batch numbers, in case a problem arises in the future.

With the water tower project nearing completion, Posen residents hope the water will soon flow from the lines. That could happen within months.

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