It is not a new discussion, as Morton Mayor Norm Durflinger will say.
It is not a new idea. And, in fact, the Morton Village Board has voted against such a topic in the past.
Painting a pumpkin on the village’s new water tower on Veterans Road seems like a no-brainer — after all, Morton is the “Pumpkin Capital of the World,” right?
While it seems like an idea that should have been accomplished years ago, back when former Illinois Gov. James Thompson declared Morton the pumpkin capital in 1978, the cost of such an endeavor might sway a few opinions on the matter.
Durflinger made a special announcement Monday night during the village board meeting at Freedom Hall addressing the village’s latest topic of discussion.
The cost of painting a pumpkin on the new water tower was too excessive for the village board to vote in favor of the option in the past.
“It will cost an additional $50,000,” Durflinger said.
The typical water tower paint job will last about 20 years, he added.
“(The paint) has a tendency to fade and needs to be repainted every eight years,” Durflinger said.
Not only that, but it might cost more to hire a company with the skills to execute the artistic undertaking.
The idea is not new to village public works director Bob Wraight. He received an e-mail from a resident prior to last week’s story.
“I, and other residents of Morton, think the new water tower on Veterans Road would do Morton proud if it were painted like a pumpkin, since we all know that Morton is the Pumpkin Capital of the World,” the e-mail states.
Wraight knows the answer to this question all too well.
“As you can imagine, the suggestion to paint the water tower like a pumpkin has come up many times,” he replied. He mentioned the topic arose during work on the Detroit Avenue tower in 1992 and again in 2007. It was also considered during work on the North Main Street tower in ‘94 and ‘05.
“The decisions were made after a thoughtful deliberative process, considering the initial cost, life expectancy of decorative paint schemes and the attractiveness of the tower as the fading process occurred during the life of the paint job,” he added in the e-mail.
In 2005, the consensus was to change the logo on the N. Main tower. The first “O” on that tower, which is visible from Interstate 74, is painted with a pumpkin.
