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County staff ask commission to authorize up to $160,000 for new jail generator and electrical work
Summary
Officials described a plan to add a gas generator at the county jail, retain the existing diesel as backup, and reconfigure transfer switches; the generator unit on state bid is $60,025, and staff proposed an authorization not to exceed $160,000 to cover equipment and installation costs.
Speaker 5 presented a proposal to address the county jail’s aging generator (installed in 1994) and asked the commission to approve a resolution authorizing purchase and installation of a replacement generator and associated electrical work.
According to Speaker 5, the existing diesel generator is more than 30 years old and currently produces roughly 135 kilowatts on average, which the speaker said is below the jail’s needs. The staff recommendation in the transcript is to keep the diesel unit on site as a backup and add a gas generator tied to a nearby gas main; the plan would include installing a new automatic transfer switch, reconfiguring older circuits so critical systems (control room, door systems, communications) have redundancy, and ensuring the installation supports future reliability.
Speaker 5 said the generator unit itself is listed on state contract at $60,025 and proposed authorizing purchase and installation at a cost “not to exceed $160,000” to cover the unit, transfer‑switch work, electrical estimates and gas hookup. Speaker 5 also said no budget is currently set aside for this purchase and earlier federal grant attempts had failed to secure funding.
Why it matters: commissioners and jail staff said reliable backup power is a critical public‑safety need for secure facilities and communications; Speaker 5 cited recent lightning strikes at a communications hub and the importance of redundancy to prevent door or server failures during outages.
Next steps: Speaker 5 asked the commission to approve a resolution to permit the purchase and installation (the transcript records the request; no final vote is recorded in the provided excerpt).
