Water Tower Upgrade Nearing Completion
GREG TRAVIS / Ledger & Times
A Murray State University logo was recently added to the water tower at the Murray West Industrial Park on U.S. 641 North. The 500,000-gallon, elevated, water storage tank was painted white last month by Caldwell Tanks from Louisville. Originally constructed in 1992, this was the first time for the structure to be repainted, according to Peyton Mastera, projects administrator for the City of Murray.
Visitors to Murray will now be greeted from above by a large Murray State University shield and logo, as the city water tower painting project off U.S. 641 is mostly complete.
The elevated water storage tank, which is located in the Murray West Industrial Park, holds 500,000 gallons and was originally constructed in 1992. It had not been repainted since that time, so the city council allotted $325,000 in the 2013-14 budget for the project, said Peyton Mastera, projects administrator for the City of Murray.
The bid for the project was recently awarded to the Louisville-based Caldwell Tanks for $229,800. With only one minor change order, the project came in well under the $325,000 that had been budgeted. The only steps now left to take before the tank is back in use are to refill and disinfect it and to conduct some water sample tests, Mastera said.
Mastera said the total cost of the shield and letter painting was $9,450. He said MSU committed to paying for a portion of that cost, but the exact amount was not yet known.
Mark Welch, MSU’s community relations director and Town & Gown coordinator, said the university was grateful that the city offered the chance for it to prominently display its logo and brand to the public. He said the precise portions had not yet been determined, but that the shield and lettering would be jointly funded by the city, Town & Gown and University Communications.
“I was initially approached by the city to see if we would be interested in having the logo on the tower, and of course, we said yes,” Welch said. “Obviously, university branding in the city of origination is important, so I think it’s a great way to brand Murray as being the home of Murray State University for folks coming into town. That’s certainly not uncommon in other university communities.”
The only difference between the official MSU logo and the water tower is that the words “STATE UNIVERSITY” are blue instead of gold, Welch said. They were initially painted gold, but there was some concern that the letters were not easily visible from the highway because of the white background, he said.
**Source: Written by Hawkins Teague, Murray Ledger & Times
