GREENFIELD — Standing tall in the Greenfield sky, one of the city’s oldest water towers now also boasts the logo of the county’s top employer.
For the past few months, crews have been repainting the city’s 140-foot blue water tower located next to Hancock Regional Hospital. The 500,000-gallon water tank was due for a face lift, but instead of only re-lettering “Greenfield” on the city landmark, crews additionally painted the Hancock Health logo on it.
Workers have been hanging atop the tower over the past several days, stenciling and painting the two features. Mike Fruth, director of Greenfield Utilities, told the Greenfield Board of Works and Public Safety last month that Hancock Health, which owns the land the tower sits on, offered to pay $15,000 for the logos.
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“Greenfield” is displayed on the east and west sides of the tower, while the bright orange Hancock Health logo is on the north and south sides.
Steve Long, CEO of Hancock Health, said not only is the logo a branding opportunity, but it identifies the hospital’s location as drivers approach the health campus from both directions on State Street. Long also said he’s thankful for the supportive partnership Hancock Health has with city leaders.
Not only is the tower located on the hospital’s property, it provides the water to the hospital’s patients and staff.
“The fact that they go to such precautions to make sure that the water is pure means a lot to us, since we have a building full of people who are sick and are recovering,” Long said.
Charles Gill, water utility manager, said the paint job on the tower, which supplies water to the east side of town, had faded over time, from a sky blue to white. Workers had to strip the tower down to bare metal since a fresh coat likely wouldn’t adhere well. According to the Daily Reporter archives, the tower was last touched-up in 2012. Gill said the utility aims to paint the exterior of towers every 10 years or so.
The city paid Leary Construction Co., a family-owned Greenfield business that specializes in painting water towers and storage tanks across the Midwest, close to $268,000 for the paint job.
When crews started spray-painting the tower in mid-to-late-May, they had to drape a tarp containment around the structure so the paint wouldn’t drift over nearby homes and vehicles in the hospital parking lot, Gill said. The bottom and top of the tower, as well as the logos, are painted by hand rather than with sprayers.
The tower had to be drained of all its water before work began, Gill said. That ensures the tower doesn’t sweat and also so workers can clean out sediment inside the tower.
Gill said the water tower now matches the city’s west tower next to Weston Elementary School; all three towers in Greenfield have also undergone regular maintenance over the past five years.
“That’s a major milestone for the utilities,” he said.
