Dodge County IT reports limited damage after series of tornadoes; disaster-recovery location draws scrutiny

An IT staff member for Dodge County said the county’s core network remained online after a series of tornadoes struck the county in mid-May, though several pieces of equipment were damaged and the county’s disaster-recovery site in Mayville raised new concerns.

County IT briefed the IT Committee Thursday on the county’s response to six tornadoes that passed through the area, including two that hit Juneau and one that impacted Mayville. “We got lucky,” the staff member said, adding that the county’s fiber ring remained intact and never lost connectivity.

The briefing said four county security cameras were affected: two had their lenses blocked by insulation, one was waterlogged after a gasket failed, and one’s condition was uncertain. A few UPS batteries need replacement, and one desktop computer located in the jail’s maintenance area suffered water damage and was replaced the following day. The staff member also said Mayville experienced a power outage but that a generator at the highway shop provided some limited power.

Why it matters: county leaders said the location of the disaster-recovery site in Mayville is a vulnerability because Mayville sits along a potential tornado path. “Since Mayville is technically in line of where tornadoes could go, it was always a concern,” the staff member said, noting the county has discussed alternate recovery options previously.

Officials described steps to document storm-related labor and damages. The committee heard that department heads are completing formal forms to track labor expenses and property damage for insurance claims and any potential FEMA reimbursement. Dawn Gault, who the staff member said has previous insurance experience, is helping coordinate claims. Committee members noted they had not yet received official word on FEMA eligibility; one member said the county’s damage may fall “super below the threshold.”

The staff member also described on-site support during the response: on-call personnel Shane Van Loonen assisted the sheriff’s office with connectivity for a deployed mobile command unit, and PR/communications staff member Megan Sheridan came to help with a sheriff-hosted press conference that was streamed to Facebook.

Discussion points included whether the county should identify a second disaster-recovery location outside of Mayville, how to limit traffic into affected areas during response operations, and the need to catalogue equipment damage for insurance and possible federal aid. The staff member said redundancies exist to reroute traffic if the fiber ring is severed, but county leaders prefer to avoid activating those contingency plans if possible.

The committee did not take a formal vote on changing the disaster-recovery site during the meeting but asked staff to continue discussions about options and to keep documenting costs and damages.

The report closed with committee members thanking IT staff for their rapid response and noting that while the county avoided major infrastructure losses this time, the tornadoes underscored the need to review recovery-site placement and documentation procedures.