 The Brainerd City Council again talking about the fate of the historic water tower tonight. The future of the water tower was brought into question after Stucco began falling off its exterior last month. The consensus of the city is to save the tower, but the first step is to inform the public of the total cost of the rehabilitation. They hope by having an ongoing discussion they can work with the community to develop a financial plan to save the water tower. The time is now. It really is. If we wait, it's going to be too late. And we would love to take it to the citizens and do a referendum, but I feel like that's a little premature. I think we need to find as much funding as we possibly can before that happens in order to make sure that the citizens of Brainerd are not footing the entire bill for a structure and an icon for an entire region if not stayed. The public is encouraged to attend the next Brainerd City Council meeting which will be held August 20th. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.