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Town councillors in Smiths Falls, Ont., have set aside $400,000 to demolish a decommissioned water tower that has stood over the downtown for more than 100 years.
Council voted Monday to set aside money from a reserve fund until a winning bidder for the demolition contract is chosen, Coun. Jay Brennan confirmed to CBC News.
Councillors heard in the spring that demolishing the tower was the preferred option of town staff, who said in a report that keeping it standing would require too much maintenance and pose a liability risk.
Mayor Shawn Pankow said last month that many of the people who voted for demolition did so with some regret, but council couldn’t justify the much higher cost of keeping “the most legendary feature in our town.”
In 2024, council was told it would cost $2.4 million to preserve the tower, he said.
Brennan, who voted in favour, said it was an “emotional time,” but agreed it was the “logical thing to do.” Between the cost to refurbish the tower and ongoing maintenance, he said it would not be worth it.
“We have other fish to fry, and this is a prime piece of land, so hopefully something can be made of it,” he said.
Smiths Falls cut the ribbon on its new water tower in December. (Cameron Mahler/CBC)
Pankow said demolishing the tower will create new opportunities for surrounding park space and for showcasing a historic dam nearby.
Of the seven councillors, Chris McGuire was the only opponent to tearing it down. He argues that the historic nature of the structure means it should stay. He is not advocating for the tower to be fixed, but said the decision was made too quickly.
“It’s the first thing you see when you’re coming home,” he said. “If there’s a cost-effective way to keep it up for 20 to 30 more years, then that’s the route we should take because then everybody can keep enjoying it, keep taking pictures of it and it can keep representing the town.”
The tower on Old Mill Road next to the Rideau Canal is currently decorated with the town’s green and gold logo. It had supplied the town’s water since 1924, until a new tower opened last year.
Previously, the tower displayed the logo of the Hershey chocolate company and proclaimed Smiths Falls “the chocolate capital of Ontario” until 2010, two years after the plant closed.
In 2010 Smiths Falls painted over the Hershey chocolate ad that had been on the tower for more than 20 years. (Steve Fischer/CBC)
Smiths Falls town council has yet to award the contract for the tower’s demolition and there is no timeline for when it will come down.