County maintenance staff report plow failures, complete park leaf cleanup and install emergency generators
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Summary
LaSalle County maintenance staff told the property committee Dec. 12 that repeated plow and truck failures forced workarounds during recent snowfalls even as crews finished a full park leaf cleanup and installed two propane generators to provide emergency heat and limited power.
LaSalle County maintenance staff reported to the County Property meeting on Dec. 12 that multiple plow-truck failures complicated snow removal this month even as crews completed a long-overdue full park leaf cleanup and brought two propane generators online.
An unidentified maintenance speaker described “two and a half weeks” of chaotic repairs after clearing leaves at Shabana and Catlin, saying crews finished “the park completely blown, which is kinda nice” but then faced a series of equipment problems that left plow trucks sidelined. The speaker described a broken plow pin, a hydraulic-line leak on an F‑450 and an electrical fault on a GMC 2500 that temporarily left the county without a working plow truck; crews used a fixed-position plow and tractors as workarounds while sending the vehicles to Red’s for repairs.
The maintenance update included details about the property’s emergency power: the modular building received a 60‑kilowatt propane generator and the bathhouse a 25–26‑kilowatt propane unit. Both units are winterized and fitted with LTE remote monitoring that the department said will report generator status, oil-change reminders and other alerts by phone; propane delivery and final hookup remained outstanding at the time of the meeting.
Committee members asked about warranties and automatic test cycles. The maintenance speaker said warranty review and paperwork had been delayed by field repairs but confirmed that the generators have automatic start and exercise cycles and that remote monitoring is active.
The committee did not take formal action on this report beyond discussion. The county’s maintenance team said repairs were underway and that the 2500‑series truck was fixed enough to restore plowing capacity while the F‑450 remained in for hydraulic hose repair.