Peru City Council, mayor at odds over proposed UFO water tower design

The Peru City Council is seemingly at an impasse regarding the city’s water tower.

During Monday night’s meeting, Mayor Ken Kolowski said he was not present at the previous committee meeting and asked if the council had any updates or if they were planning on moving forward with the UFO design.

Alderman Jason Edgcomb said he was under the impression that a decision had already been made based on a text the mayor had sent the alderman.

“The text message read: ‘We are not doing this, ’” Edgcomb said.

“No, I said we are not doing it at this time,” Kolowski said. “I’m just kind of uncomfortable with it. I personally don’t like it.”

During last week’s committee meeting, the committee approved a “Area 251,” UFO-themed water tower with a baseball, a baseball bat and a soccer ball inside the beam of the UFO for the water tower behind Hy-Vee.

Corporate Counsel Scott Schweickert said ​​the idea behind Area 251 is to create a regional identity for marketing and branding the City of Peru’s retail area, and hopefully, sports complex.

“It is proposed to paint the base of the tower a lighter color (white/silver) so that it absorbs the colored uplighting from the RGBW LED spotlights, and to paint the top tank a darker color (navy) so that only the logos and aviation obstruction lighting is visible at night, giving it the appearance of a UFO with a tractor beam,” he said. “Something that will spark curiosity of travelers on I-80 to encourage them to pull off and see, and to shop and spend money while they are here.”

He said the design will give broad marketing appeal and opportunity for branding of the sports complex.

“Instead of playing tournaments or attending concerts at the ‘Peru City Center and Regional Sports Complex’, they would play at Area 251 Sports Complex or Area 251 Amphitheater,” he said. “It’s memorable and creates a sense of place and identity.”

Alderman Jim Lukosus said that all six committee members approved the design and said it was a shock to receive a text from Kolowski saying he was against the design.

“I’d like to see us do something that’s a little bit unique and a little bit different than what other communities have to kind of set us apart,” he said. “We’ve had such positive feedback from the tower…with the TBM on it.”

Kolowski said he is not against the project; he just doesn’t think they should change the design without getting public feedback first.

“This is a big decision,” he said. “It’s going to be up there for 30 or 40 years.”