The Madison City Commission voted to proceed with the intent to demolish the water tower located at 504 Northwest Fourth Street, while directing staff to study timing and cost details and to report back with recommendations before final authorization.

Jamieson told the commission the tower has been out of service since January 2024 and recapped public outreach: staff received 35 responses via online channels (14 supported keeping the tower, seven favored demolition, seven were unclear). Mayor Lindsay and city staff described current water-storage capacity: the South Tower (750,000 gallons), a Northeast Tower (500,000 gallons), a 1,000,000-gallon storage unit at the treatment plant and another 1,000,000-gallon tower two miles east at Lewis and Clark, for a combined available volume of about 3,250,000 gallons. Typical daily use reported for the city was roughly 620,000 gallons, with summer peaks between about 900,000 and 1,100,000 gallons per day.

One commissioner presented a comparative financial analysis: estimated maintenance costs over 10 years were presented at roughly $750,000 (first four years shown at about $5,590,000 in a different phrasing during discussion), while demolition plus monopole options were described as substantially lower over a 10-year window (presenter cited a rough $150,000 removal plus an estimated $250,000 10-year monopole cost). Commissioners and staff cautioned these figures are preliminary estimates and said additional work is needed to confirm liabilities, lead mitigation costs and revenue assumptions from existing communications contracts.

Commissioners discussed timeline options. Staff and contractors advised the tower is structurally stable and not expected to collapse imminently; given budget constraints some commissioners proposed moving the capital work into the 2027 budget cycle and using the intervening period for additional inspection and planning. The motion approved by the commission directs city staff to (1) evaluate lead paint and falling paint-particle risks, (2) prepare cost estimates for demolition versus removal-and-monopole options, (3) review contract termination and carrier-relocation logistics, and (4) return with a recommended schedule (noting fall completion windows for demolition/torch work if done within the next construction season).

The commission did not set a demolition start date; instead, members approved moving forward with study and budgeting steps and reserved the final timing decision for a future meeting.

"The tower is not going anywhere," staff said in describing structural stability, while the commission agreed the financial and public-health questions merit further investigation before final removal.