Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Backup topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Jefferson County board asks maintenance to get quotes for generator to protect courthouse server
Summary
Board members heard that the courthouse UPS holds power for roughly 10 minutes and that repeated outages threaten virtualized servers and $20,000 in equipment; they voted to have maintenance obtain quotes for a natural-gas-fed backup focused on isolating and protecting the server and infrastructure.
During routine business the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors discussed repeated power outages at the courthouse that have repeatedly interrupted operations and threaten county data.
Supervisor (Speaker 1) said the server'backup system persisted only briefly during recent outages and that staff feared damage to systems containing roughly $20,000 in equipment. IT and maintenance staff described the UPS behavior and options for backup power.
"I believe I heard it's only 10 minutes," said maintenance/IT staff (Speaker 4) when asked about UPS battery duration. Staff and supervisors considered two primary approaches: upgrade the UPS or install a small generator to keep essential systems running. Maintenance recommended tapping the building's natural gas line as a long-term option, while acknowledging fuel choices affect installation complexity.
Supervisor (Speaker 6) moved to have Rod (maintenance) obtain quotes for a natural-gas generator and required wiring/isolation work; Speaker 10 seconded the motion and the board approved it by voice vote. Supervisors and staff also discussed whether circuits would have to be reconfigured so critical panels would be protected by the new generator.
Direction: maintenance was instructed to gather cost estimates and report back; staff noted additional assessment would be needed to determine whether isolated server circuits or whole-building backup is appropriate.
