Court approves purchase of replacement batteries and bypass switch for LEC UPS to protect servers

The court approved a purchase request from the county’s information‑technology department for replacement batteries and an electric bypass switch for the Law Enforcement Center’s uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system. IT staff said vendor inspection determined the unit had reached end‑of‑life and required immediate battery replacement; the UPS protects core servers during the brief transfer to generator power.

IT staff said the batteries are expensive because the LEC uses a large, centralized UPS (not the smaller closet units). The vendor recommended adding the replacement to a UPS rotation program; staff said typical life expectancy for the replacement cells is five to eight years. Commissioners voted to authorize the purchase and use capital-equipment funds to pay for it (vote 5–0).

The IT director said the budget had funds because another capital project came in under budget, making the replacement available without increasing the county’s overall capital spending. The court approved the request and directed IT to proceed with the vendor work and to schedule the replacement to minimize service disruption.