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Crossville board approves wiring to allow emergency generator hookup at new facility
Summary
Board members approved using project contingency to pay about $82,000 to wire a new Crossville facility so a portable emergency generator can be connected for use as a shelter. The work covers transfer switches and hookups only; the town would still obtain or borrow a generator when needed.
Crossville board members voted to authorize work to wire a newly constructed facility so a portable emergency generator can be connected, a step officials said would let the building serve as an emergency shelter in future power outages.
A project representative told the board the contractor re-evaluated early estimates and revised the cost down from about $150,000 to roughly $82,000 for the electrical work needed to make the building generator-ready. The board’s action authorizes using contingency money from the ongoing construction project rather than issuing a change order.
The representative said the wiring covers the transfer switch and hookups needed to accept a brought-in generator but does not include purchasing or permanently installing a generator. "We were originally looking at somewhere around a hundred and $50,000 for this…it's an $82,000 item," the representative said. He added the work makes it "very seamless" to bring a generator in and start it when needed.
Board members emphasized the hookup would supply only essential systems needed for a temporary shelter — showers and other basic services for a few hundred people — rather than powering large loads such as full air conditioning or the pool. "You're not gonna bring a generator in to fire up that entire building to run the air conditioning or the pool," a board member said; the project representative confirmed the hookups are sized for essential services only.
Members discussed potential funding and partnerships. One commissioner recalled earlier conversations about pursuing FEMA funds for emergency-shelter work and noted those grants carry "a lot of hoops and hurdles." The board also discussed borrowing units from nearby utilities or renting generators if the town needed to house people after a disaster; a member noted that utilities often need their own units first in region-wide outages.
A motion to approve the wiring was made on the floor and seconded; members voted in favor and the motion passed. The contractor said it will log the expense and, at project closeout, deduct the wiring cost from contingency through a documented change order so remaining contingency funds can be returned to the project budget.
Next steps include executing the wiring change from contingency funds and documenting the cost in the project's financial log for final reconciliation.
