McAlester city councilors listened quietly on Tuesday night as Steve Woodward of Utility Service Co. Inc. outlined how much some of the city’s water towers have deteriorated.

Woodward said the company has inspected five city water towers. The company evaluated the towers interior and exterior coatings, structural conditions, safety concerns, sanitary conditions and security conditions.

As he spoke, Woodward pointed out the deteriorating conditions on both the inside and outside of several of the water towers, which holds the city’s water supply after it’s treated at the city’s water treatment plant.

Two of the water towers in worst shape were the tower at B Street and Seminole Avenue and the Buffalo water tower at the top of Third Street, near Brumley Gymnasium.

Both towers had badly deteriorated inside due to corrosion and have other problems, Woodward said.

For example, the interior of the Buffalo tower is pocked with a bacterial colony — and chlorine contact will not remove it, he said.

Better options would be chemical cleaning and sandblasting, Woodward said.

Both towers had openings on the top where rainwater could seep inside. Both had “blistering” on the inside of the tanks.

Other water towers, including the Carl Albert tower and the tower at the Steven W. Taylor Industrial Park, also had problems.

Woodward said there were security problems at the tanks and they needed to be fenced to keep intruders away and off of them.

He said he was thinking of children, more than terrorists, and mentioned the liability to the city if someone should be injured.

“It’s somewhat depressing,” Ward Three Councilor John Browne said after Woodward’s presentation.

“Knowing is better than not knowing,” Mayor Kevin Priddle said.

After his presentation, Woodward made a pitch offering Utility Service Company’s services in cleaning, restoring and maintaining the city’s water towers through an annual contract.

Woodward did not mention the cost to the city for an annual contract during the meeting and City Manager Mark Roath said several other factors would have to be considered.

Roath said the city needs to take a holistic approach to its water problems. Work is already under way at the water treatment plant, but more improvements are needed and the city is also hoping to replace some of its antiquated water lines.

City councilors took no action on the matter Tuesday night.

In another agenda item, city councilors approved an amendment to the city budget and declared it an emergency so it would take effect immediately.

After passing the measure, the council heard a request from McAlester Fire Chief Harold Stewart recommending that the city purchase a new ambulance.

Stewart recommended the city purchase a $98,750 ambulance to replace one that had been wrecked in February when it was hit by a semi truck while crossing an intersection.

Stewart said that Midwest Vehicle Professionals had submitted the only bid for the ambulance, although bid packets had been sent to several other vendors.

That resulted in a series of questions from Ward Six City Councilor Sam Mason. He wanted to know why a provision had been included in the bid packets stating that any company submitting a bid must manufacture at least 500 ambulances a year.

Mason indicated that he felt that requirement to be too stringent, and he said that other companies might have submitted bids — but they couldn’t reach the 500 ambulances a year benchmark.

At one point, after Mason fired more questions his way, Stewart said he feels like he does his best when he comes before the council, but then he comes under attack.

Mayor Priddle tried to soothe the exchanges between Mason and Stewart at one point, telling Stewart that questions are not accusations.

City Attorney Bill Ervin said he saw no illegalities in the way the bids had been submitted and accepted.

City councilors then voted to approve the purchase, with the exception of Mason, who voted “no.”

Also during the meeting, city councilors listened as City Public Works Director George Marcangeli described 18 parcels of land that the city owns.

City councilors listened to the presentation, although they took no action on the measure. The city is considering whether to sell all or some of the land, but Marcangeli said more research is needed before the parcels are offered for sale.

For one thing, Marcangeli said he wanted to make sure that the city actually owns all of the property.

City councilors also approved a measure that updated the city’s contract with the McAlester Economic Development Service.

All of the councilors who were present voted in favor of authorizing the mayor to sign the updated contract, with the exception of Mason, who cast the lone dissenting vote. Ward 5 Councilor Buddy Garvin had previously announced he would be unable to attend the meeting, but the rest of the council was present.

The council then approved a $20,500 claim for MEDS.

City councilors also unanimously approved rescheduling the city council’s regular meeting that had been set for April 14. Councilors rescheduled the meeting for April 13, which is on a Monday. Mayor Priddle said they rescheduled the meeting so some of the city councilors could attend a celebration for Choctaw Chief Greg Pyle.

Following the special meeting, city councilors met in executive session until around 8:15 p.m. to discuss contract negotiations with the police and fire unions.

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.