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10.13.05 Millard to get fresh coat of civic pride The old Millard water tower soon will say "Millard" once again. A contractor hired by the Metropolitan Utilities District to repaint the tower at 144 and Q Sts. will add Millard to its east and west sides about a month from now. The Millard Business Association will pay $2,000 for the extra work. Omaha annexed the town of Millard in 1971, and "Millard" came off the tower some time in the mid-1980s, according to the Millard Business Association. A resurgence of Millard pride prompted Steve Andersen, the grandson of Millard's only mayor, to ask M.U.D. to place the name back on the tower when he learned in August of the utility's plan to repaint it. Ultimately, M.U.D. agreed to do so as long as the Business Association paid to have it done. The entire 115-ft. tower is being repainted. The subcontractor, Iowa-based Central Tank Coatings Inc., is sandblasting and priming the tower for the white paint to come. "Millard" will be painted in black letters. The tower is shrouded by a multicolored curtain to contain paint and sandblasted debris. "I gave them photographs of what it used to look like," Andersen, a Millard-area electrical contractor, said Wednesday. The complete paint job will cost about $160,000, M.U.D. engineer Cory O'Brien said. O'Brien said a M.U.D. water-tower painting project in Bennington is further along than the Millard project. That tower, which is small than Millard's already says "Bennington." But the high school team name, Badgers, will be added as will the Badger logo. The community raised the $1,850 needed to add those elements, said Bennington City Clerk Mini Laaker. O'Brien said the Badger logo and lettering might be added late this week. The tower is being painted for about $112,000. The Valley water tower -- which features the town name on two sides -- also is being repainted, but the city owns it own water system. W.S. Bunch Co. of Omaha is doing the work, which should be completed by the end of the month. The project will cost $74,110. Rich Howdle, president of the Millard Business Association, said it is important to longtime Millard residents that their area retain its identity. Having the community's name on the water tower is part of that. "We're really excited to see it happen," Howdle said. |
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