A Maguire water-tank expert discussed the company’s water tower services on Oct. 20 with the Bourbon Board of Aldermen.

Zach Nagel represented his company during the meeting.

“We got one tower on a full-service maintenance plan, which includes paint. It’s a little easier for the city to budget. You know exactly what you’re going to pay for it every single year,” Nagel said.

The other two water towers, the one by the school and the one by Interstate 44 and Paramount Drive, are only on service agreements, which means Maguire cleans and inspects them, but doesn’t paint them.

Nagel proposed that the city put the other two water towers on maintenance plans.

“So our maintenance plan, what we do is we take the upfront renovation, which is the price to get it up to current standards, and we spread it four or five years, and then it drops to an annual amount. That annual amount pays for all inspections, cleanings (and) the next paint job. Usually it’s every 10 years,” Nagel said.

When looking at the pricing, the school water tower is cheaper to repair. The other water tower by the highway needs to be blasted before it is repainted so the new paint doesn’t just fall off.

For the water tower near the school, Nagel recommended pressure washing the surface. He said hand and power tools are needed to remove corrosion areas and prepare for painting.

It also needs a spot coat and a full prime coat of Tnemec 118, and a finish coat of Tnemec Series 30 Acrylic. The interior needs to be blasted and recoated with a zinc/epoxy coating system, as well as the installation of a new 24-inch frostproof vent with a 24-inch fan flange.

All this work will cost four payments of $56,579.84 from 2027 to 2030, and then lower to $24,084.74 in 2031. Once paid, work would begin on the water tower near the highway.

During that four-year period, the cost for the highway water tower is $5,000 annually, which is for inspections and reports. Then, in 2031, they plan to start the work based on the recommendations for that water tower.

The packet Nagel presented to the board said that Maguire recommends that the exterior be blasted clean, a prime coat of zinc be applied, an intermediate coat of epoxy be applied, a finish coat of urethane be applied to complete the exterior, the interior be blasted and recoated with a zinc/epoxy coating and a new 24-inch frostproof vent with a 24-inch fan flange be installed.

This work would be completed in 2031, with an estimated annual cost of $115,354.56 until 2034, when the price would decrease to approximately $29,111.21 in 2035 for visual inspections and reports.

The board has until January to lock in the prices as they are. Aldermen tabled the decision until they can look at the information more.

Bourbon Parks and Recreation Board Member Bob Rohrer said that the board raised money and purchased six benches and a picnic table, and they would like to get concrete pads for their placements.

Two benches are already mounted at the pickleball court. Two will be placed on the hill facing the pickleball court, and the other two will replace preexisting benches.

The board received one bid of $2,300 to pour the concrete from Chase Tolliver.

Ward 1 Alderman Margie Brine asked McEuen if the city employees had enough time to do the work, but he said that it would be quicker to go along with the Parks and Rec Board’s plan.

A motion for the city to cover the cost of the concrete bid was approved by a 4-0 vote.

The city is up for renewal with the Missouri Public Entity Risk Management (MOPERM) Fund.

Blake said that the insurance did increase by $4,911 from last year, for a total cost of $66,458, because the city’s property assessment increased.

A motion to accept the renewal was approved by a 4-0 vote.

With changes coming to Bourbon, like the city needing to raise water and sewer rates, a list was created and posted at City Hall of resources in both Bourbon and across Crawford County to help residents with responsibilities like paying utility bills.

There are copies in front of City Hall where residents pay their utility bills, or they can request that the list be emailed to them.

Boxes of records from the back porch of City Hall were searched, and 95 were sorted out because they were moldy and full of rodent droppings.

Instead of shredding them, it was agreed upon to burn the documents.

A motion to destroy the records that were deemed salvageable was approved with a 4-0 vote.

Ward 2 Alderman Mary Heywood announced that the Bourbon Booster’s Annual Senior Christmas Dinner is on Dec. 6 at the elementary school, but those wanting to participate need to reserve their meal by Dec. 1 by calling either Town & Country Bank or Bremer Hardware.

In other business, Bill No. 2026-03 was presented to the board as a result of their Sept. 15 meeting. It allowed the city to post signs for no through truck traffic over 10,000 pounds within Bourbon city limits.

Brine took issue with the bill, saying the weight limit needed to be increased to at least 18,000 pounds because she thinks 10,000 is too low.

The bill was tabled until it is revised to say 18,000 pounds.

A motion to accept Bill No. 2026-04, which approved and accepted the legal description of Lot 7 of Plat 7 in the Bourbon Industrial Park, was approved by a 4-0 vote and became Ordinance 1004.

Bill No. 2026-05 became Ordinance 1005 after a motion to accept it was approved by a 4-0 vote. It accepted the sale of Lot 7 of Plat 7 in the Bourbon Industrial District to Mark Robbins.