McMinnville officials have terminated a longstanding contract with the company that oversees upkeep on its water tanks.

SUEZ Water Advanced Solutions will be sent a notice that its services will no longer be needed as of June 30, 2018. That decision was made by the McMinnville Board of Mayor and Aldermen after Water Department director Anthony Pelham informed the city of issues he was having with the company and how those problems prompted him to withhold an annual payment of $58,500.

Pelham has been negotiating with the company over the payment and work he says they have not completed on the downtown water tank by the Farmers Market.

“They are proposing half payment now and the balance of that half upon completion of the work,” Pelham said. “I feel like we’ve found a middle ground. Half and half is agreeable to me.”

The offer from SUEZ was an alternative to the first settlement proposal that asked for the entire balance and then competition of the work, an offer city attorney Tim Pirtle urged officials to reject.

Officials accepted the half-now, half-later offer and approved termination of the annual contract agreement that has been in place since 2006. By the contract, officials must provide a 90-day notice of termination prior to June 30 or the contract will automatically renew July 1.