The city is seeking proposals and bids for creative design and painting on the Gore Hill water tower.

The request was released this week and proposals are due by 3 p.m. Sept. 18.

Earlier this year, the City Commission opted to put the logo painting decision on hold to explore other options.

Water tower lettering decision on hold

When the city first approved the contract in 2017 for the tower’s construction, the lettering was an added option that City Commissioners decided to put off until construction was complete.

Lettering options considered for new Gore Hill water tower

The construction contractor notified the city earlier this year that their painting crew would be in town this spring to paint the pedestal a light tan color, so staff was asking the commission to choose a lettering option so that painting could be done at the same time.

The full request for proposals is available here.

Three designs were proposed, one of which was the lettering used by Visit Great Falls Montana Tourism, the Great Falls Development Authority, the Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, and as of Tuesday, the Downtown Great Falls Association/Business Improvement District.

Those designs ranged in price from $27,500 to $37,700.

On Aug. 20, City Manager Greg Doyon told City Commissioners that the tower’s paint needs to cure until spring 2020 before any new mural or design can be painted on the water tank portion.

According to the city’s request, proposals should include:

• Up to three mural/logo design concepts for review and consideration by the city. The entity submitting concept design information shall maintain copyright interests for images not selected for the project.
• The respective costs to paint each of the submitted mural/logo designs proposed for
  consideration by the city on the water tower, including equipment, labor, materials, insurance, bonding, and other related expenses necessary to complete the mural painting in accordance with the specifications and contract requirements.
• Provide proof of qualifications for successfully completing similar work on at least three but no more than five elevated structures demonstrating that the entity submitting a proposal has prior experience with the application of industrial coatings; information should include contact information for references to verify performance.

The Gore Hill Water Tower consists of a composite style elevated water storage facility completed in 2018. The bowl is comprised of welded steel with a TNEMEC Series 700 exterior coating system applied in 2018. The same coating system with proper surface preparation is required for the coating used to paint the mural/logo on the bowl.

The pedestal is comprised of cast-in-place concrete with a color infused concrete sealant by Sherwin Williams. Proper surface preparation of the pedestal is required to ensure proper adhesion of the specified TNEMEC Series 156 Enviro-Crete coating product before any mural/logo can be painted on the pedestal, according to the bid documents.