Storm damage closes Fox Park; county orders emergency repairs after jail generator load test fail
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Summary
Facilities director reported Fox Park closed following storm damage and told the committee a jail generator failed a load test due to a radiator issue. The county plans an emergency repair (radiator rebuild) and rental backup generator at an estimated combined cost of about $35,000; a full generator replacement would be roughly $180,000.
Facilities Director Chad Powers told the Ways and Means Committee that Fox Park is closed until further notice after a storm the previous night caused downed trees and road damage. County crews were assessing the site.
Powers also reported that a load test on one of the jail’s generators failed. The unit—an older, 1987 model that supports parts of the jail—experienced a radiator failure. Powers said the radiator can be removed, rebuilt and reinstalled, a process that would take roughly two weeks and cost about $20,000; the county would also rent a backup generator while repairs are undertaken, estimated at about $15,000 for a month, for a combined estimated cost of $35,000.
Powers said a replacement generator would cost approximately $180,000 and that the failed unit’s radiator is large (he estimated the radiator at roughly seven feet by seven feet). The county identified the repair as a critical, time-sensitive need because a failed generator at the jail could require moving inmates. He said the jail millage fund is the recommended funding source for the emergency expense.
Committee members agreed staff should proceed with emergency rental and repairs and will include the expenditure in upcoming budget amendments for board approval.