"Our town's name closely resembles the classic American food, as well as a water tower which is shaped similarly," Hannotte wrote. "I would like to propose that we re-paint this piece of our town's history to look like a hamburger."
Hamburg prides itself as the birthplace of the first hamburger, in 1885, a claim the town celebrates every July in an event known as Burgerfest.
The town first considered painting the water tower like a hamburger 24 years ago, but Hannotte has revived the idea and gained the attention of local government officials including Councilman Thomas Best Jr.
"It would be neat to have a burger-type thing. I think it would give an identity to Hamburg, where it's a destination, and people would be able to see it from the Thruway," Best said. "It would be nice to have this, except if it didn't come from the taxpayer funding. I can't see spending taxpayer money when we have roads not paved for 15 to 20 years."
Hannotte plans to hold fundraisers and secure grants to makeover the water tower without the use of taxpayer money. She has also invited several artists to pitch their potential ideas for the water tower's new design.
Hannotte's said her petition has received about 1,500 signatures, as many hamburger loving Hamburg residents hailed the idea as "fun and creative."
