PV Town Board Wants to See Water Tower Taken Down

An obsolete water tower will hopefully be taken down in Putnam Valley as town board members discussed the mechanics of removing the eyesore at last Wednesday’s workshop.

The four-tenths of an acre targeted includes the water tower, a cement pump house and water pipes. Currently, the tower is a hazard as it presently stands, according to the town board.

“We need to get rid of it, it’s been standing too long,” Oliverio said. “It’s going to be tough to take that tower down, it’s big steel there.”

By getting rid of the useless tower, Oliverio said the price the town pays toward insurance would go down a bit and remove an “eyesore in the Wildwood Knolls district of town.”

Oliverio explained in an interview the water tower was part of the Wildwood Knolls water district. Because of that, the town can’t use its funds to remove it. The costs would be roughly $50,000 to remove everything and improve the area.

During the meeting, Oliverio said if Wildwood Knolls residents want to take it down, they could either hire a company or even do it themselves. If they do it

themselves, they’ll need to be insured and would have to sign a waiver with the town to not sue if someone gets injured.

One resident has offered to handle the water tower takedown, but in return he wants the small piece of land it sits on, Oliverio said. Oliverio noted before any deal is reached, they have to advertise to give everyone a chance to put in an offer. The land is too small and on a ledge to build anything on it, he said.

“There are residents in Wildwood Knolls who would love to do it themselves,” Oliverio said. “So we are offering them that opportunity.”