Chapter 19. Water Tower

History: Ord. No. 1995-021; recodified Ord. No. 2004-041; amended Ord. Nos. 2019-052, 2024-016

Sec. 19-1. Purpose.

This chapter provides for the operation, appearance, and protection of the Dongvile Water Tower, which the City Council finds to be an essential part of the City’s water system and a landmark depicted on the official seal of the City.

Sec. 19-2. Definitions.

In this chapter:

(1) Committee means the Water Tower Paint Ad Hoc Committee described in Section 19-5.

(2) Current painting means the exterior colors, lettering, and numerals of the Tower as they existed on the effective date of Ordinance No. 1995-021, including the score of the 1994 regional runner-up game.

(3) Director means the Public Works Director or designee.

(4) Successor color means an exterior color or color scheme for the Tower adopted by the City Council by ordinance under Section 19-4.

(5) Tower means the Dongvile Water Tower, a 500,000-gallon elevated water storage tank located at Chili Dog St and W 2nd St, including its bowl, riser, legs, ladders, catwalk, foundations, and appurtenances, and the fenced site on which it stands.

Sec. 19-3. Operation and maintenance.

(a) The Tower is part of the City’s public water system. The Public Works Department shall operate it in accordance with the rules of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for public water systems.

(b) The Director shall have the Tower inspected at least annually as required by state rules, and inspected inside and out by a qualified tank inspection firm at least once every five years.

Sec. 19-4. Color of the Tower.

(a) The exterior color of the Tower shall be determined by the City Council by ordinance.

(b) Until a successor color is adopted, the Tower shall remain in its current painting, and the Director shall keep the current painting in good condition.

(c) Touch-up painting shall match the current painting as closely as practicable. Touch-up painting, primer, and coatings applied to the interior of the bowl are not the adoption of a successor color.

(d) The color of the Tower shall be placed on the agenda of each regular meeting of the City Council as a standing item, as the first item of business after the call to order, until a successor color is adopted.

(e) A motion to table the standing item applies only to the meeting at which it is made. The item shall appear on the agenda of the next regular meeting.

Sec. 19-5. Water Tower Paint Ad Hoc Committee.

(a) The Water Tower Paint Ad Hoc Committee, created by Resolution No. R-2024-07, is continued as provided in this section.

(b) The Committee consists of five members appointed by the Mayor with the consent of the Council. At least one member shall be a councilmember, who serves as chair. The Director serves as nonvoting staff liaison.

(c) The Committee shall study and recommend a successor color, considering durability, cost, visibility, compatibility with the official seal and the courthouse square, and public comment.

(d) The Committee shall meet until a decision is reached.

(e) A member shall not publicly disclose a personal preference for a successor color before the Committee reports its recommendation to the Council.

(f) The Committee’s recommendation is advisory. The Committee is dissolved when a successor color is adopted.

(g) Meetings of the Committee are subject to the Texas Open Meetings Act, Tex. Gov’t Code ch. 551.

Sec. 19-6. Lettering, numerals and images.

(a) No lettering, numeral, logo, or image shall be added to, removed from, or altered on the Tower except as authorized by ordinance.

(b) The score shown on the Tower as part of the current painting is a matter of historical record. It shall not be updated, corrected, annotated, or supplemented with the score of any other game.

(c) No person shall paint, mark, or attach anything to the Tower, including initials, class years, banners, or holiday decorations, except as authorized by this chapter.

Sec. 19-7. Climbing prohibited.

(a) No person shall climb or attempt to climb the Tower, or enter the fenced Tower site, except:

(1) City employees and contractors acting within the scope of their duties;

(2) emergency responders in the performance of their duties; and

(3) licensees under Section 19-8 and their contractors, after giving the Director at least 48 hours’ notice.

(b) Persons authorized to climb the Tower shall use fall protection meeting federal OSHA standards.

(1) was a member of a graduating class;

(2) intended to paint the Tower a successor color, or to propose one; or

(3) climbed only part of the way.

(d) The absence of a posted sign, or the condition of the fence, is not a defense to prosecution under this section.

Sec. 19-8. Antennas and attachments.

(a) The City Manager may license space on the Tower for antennas of public safety agencies, utilities, and wireless service providers, under an agreement approved by the Council.

(b) No antenna or attachment shall obscure any part of the current painting, including the score.

Sec. 19-9. Lighting.

(a) The Tower shall have obstruction lighting as required by the Federal Aviation Administration.

(b) The Council may authorize decorative illumination of the Tower by resolution for holidays and civic events. Illumination of the Tower with colored light is not the adoption of a successor color.

Sec. 19-10. Water Tower Maintenance Fund.

(a) The Water Tower Maintenance Fund is established. The proceeds of the Tower Maintenance Surcharge imposed by Section 18-4 and license revenue under Section 19-8 shall be deposited in the Fund.

(b) The Fund may be used only for inspection, cleaning, repair, coating, maintenance, and repainting of the Tower.

(d) The Finance Director shall report the balance of the Fund to the Council each year with the proposed budget.

Sec. 19-11. Penalty.

(a) A person who violates this chapter commits a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $500, as provided in Section 1-8.

(b) A violation of Section 19-7 is a violation of a provision governing public health and sanitation, for the protection of the public water supply, and is punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,000.