Airdrie City Council will hear what the next steps are surrounding the city's historical water tower next week. With $60,000 allocated from the 2023 budget, administration will be providing councillors an update on work surrounding the water tower and further plans around the site.
According to an agenda report, more work will be completed this year around the water tower, which includes reclamation work as well as additional landscaping. In a cost breakdown, city administration stated that $30,000 will be allocated for reclamation work including the removal of the cement pad, hauling and disposal of materials, grading, site preparation and fencing.
The remaining funds will be used for, 'additional landscaping and to ensure the site is left in a safe condition, proper drainage and levelling to ensure the site looks aesthetically pleasing as further parks plan is being developed.'
The proposed signage would be meant to educate,'the public on the historical significance of the Airdrie Water Tower, the Stevenson Stopping House and Airdrie’s first RCMP detachment site will be a focal point for the site.'
"The result of this reclamation work and installation of interpretive signage will ensure the site is inviting and aligns with the intent of designating the water tower as a historic resource," city documents stated.
Initially, there were discussions about turning the entire site into a passive park for public use, which included illumination. The site plan was presented to the Community Services Advisory Board (CSAB), in March of last year.
"The Administrative recommendation to CSAB was the addition of parking in the south portion of the property. The stalls would likely be visitors to the site and business patrons which was proposed in the original site concept as one of the options. CSAB discussed this option but provided direction that to honour, protect or showcase one of Airdrie’s premier historic assets the focus should be creating a new park amenity for public use," documents added.
As far as the water tower being illuminated, administration conceded that there were several barriers to this idea, including a 130,000 dollar cost.
"The lot dimensions and inability to mount hardware directly on the Tower structure make the additional of permanent illumination unfeasible. The Airdrie logo on the watersphere (ball) may still not be visible and may not achieve the desired effects. Uplighting can create light pollution which could also impact the surrounding neighbours."
Administration noted that illumination would not add to the character-defining elements of the water tower and could be viewed as a distraction.
Airdrie's 1959 Water Tower was declared a Municipal Historic Resource in 2022, and in the summer of 2023, work was completed to revamp the tower, including repainting it.
Originally, the Water Tower was constructed by Horton’s Steel Works and was originally used to provide water pressure and storage for the village’s new municipal water lines. The steel tower represents mid-20th-century infrastructure.
Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to news@discoverairdrie.com. You can also message and follow us on Twitter: @AIR1061FM
DiscoverAirdrie encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the DiscoverAirdrie app. For breaking news, weather and contest alerts click here.
Thu, May 16, 1:15 PM
Full-time, Permanent, Administrative