Indian River County weighs the future of the recently painted Gifford water tower

GIFFORD — What to do with the Gifford water tower?

The tower — which was emblazoned with the community's name just two years ago and immediately became a symbol of local pride — has structural issues, and now the county is weighing what to do with it.

Lifelong county resident Ernie Grier, 67, tried for years to get the name of the historical Black community on its water tower to reflect that pride, he told TCPalm in 2021. After three years his efforts paid off: The County Commission agreed unanimously that year to paint the community's name on the water tower, and Grier was thrilled — until last week.

"What came up all of a sudden that you didn't know a couple of years ago before you painted the water tower again?" Grier asked.

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The tower, built in the late 1970s, has structural issues and requires a "significant amount of maintenance" to ensure it doesn't collapse, according to county spokesperson Kathy Copeland. The county discovered the tower's structural issues while considering lease renewal for cell antennas that are attached to it, Copeland said.

The Gifford tower is no longer functional. Aside from its aesthetic value and historical significance to the community, its primary purpose is to hold the cell antennas, she said. It's one of three maintained by the county, with the only functioning tower being the one off 58th Avenue in west county, and the third being in Roseland.

County officials, including new Administrator John Titkanich, met with Gifford community members last week to discuss the future of the tower.

"If anything, there's probably more sensitivity to this tower as opposed to others, because there's apparently emotional attachment to this one," Copeland said. "So we want to make sure that we consider all of that when even looking at options."

Will the tower come down?

It's unclear what will happen to the tower. But county officials say they've paused any further action while they explore options.

"My takeaway from that meeting is that I have an opportunity to pause forward motion, at least until I have the time necessary to review the past history and any current reports that may have been generated," Titkanich told TCPalm in a statement. "Again, it is my position that it is way too early in the process to determine appropriate options or actions.”

Repairs could cost between $200,000 and $300,000, Copeland said. It cost the county $8,500 to paint "Gifford" on the tower's southwest side, despite initial estimates of up to $100,000, until officials decided the whole tower did not have to be repainted.

Community pride

The Gifford tower, located near Gifford Middle School, was the first in the county. Now that it finally has the Gifford name, it acts as an identifier for the historic Black community and it elicits a sense of pride, Grier said.

"That's all I wanted," Grier said. "I've been places and no matter what color or people or whatever, they have the name of that community on it."

Across the county, the Fellsmere and Roseland water towers display their communities' names. Grier is opposed to taking the Gifford tower down, and community members he's heard from are opposed, too, he said.

"I believe that staff heard the community on how much passion and how much appreciation they have for what we know as the Gifford water tower," Commissioner Joe Flescher said. "It's not simply a utility device."

No specific options have been outlined for the tower, but Flescher, whose district includes Gifford, says he's optimistic about a resolution to preserve it.

"When we went to the meeting, I think people were convinced that they decided the tower's coming down," Flescher said. "As a matter of fact, I don't even think that's in the future of the tower. I hope that we get a good resolution to fortify the structure that exists."

There's no timeframe for making a final decision, Copeland said, but the County Commission will have the final say.

Thomas Weber is TCPalm's Indian River County government watchdog reporter. You can reach him at thomas.weber@tcpalm.com or 813-545-9113. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.