Since the release of the report on Moser Tower’s needed repairs, the city has been approached by several building experts who have ideas on how it could be fixed for less than its maximum $3.8 million repair bill.
Those experts recently volunteered their time to meet with the city’s engineers to tour and inspect the tower, examine any deficiencies, and start offering new angles on the problem.
“There are a wide range of possibilities that we could embark upon going from here,” said Bill Novack, Director of Transportation, Engineering, and Development with the City of Naperville. “A lot of great ideas were thrown out today and I’m very enthused by that.”
Structural integrity testing is planned for the fall, to determine the magnitude of the problems plaguing the 17-year-old tower, which include corroded steel and basement leakage.
Information gathered from that, and this recent meeting of experts, will be passed on to the soon-to-be-formed Moser Tower Task Force, which will consist of mayoral appointees of experts, citizens, and city officials. They’ll be in charge of analyzing all the information and presenting it to the Riverwalk Commission.
“We don’t have to make a decision by the end of the year. We were hoping to make a recommendation before the city’s new budget, but since this new information surfaced there is no need to rush. We’re going to take our time and do it right,” said Geoff Roehll, Chairman of the Riverwalk Commission.
The Riverwalk Commission will come up with a recommendation for City Council, who will have the final say on the tower’s fate.
Naperville News 17’s Blane Erwin reports.