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Maintenance manager warns outage exposed generator and redundancy gaps; county to pursue upgrades
Summary
Flathead County maintenance staff reported gaps in emergency backup power revealed by a recent outage and outlined near‑term projects including a Justice Center chiller upgrade, HVAC control improvements for records storage, and plans to add refrigerated circuits to emergency power.
Nate Kressley, Flathead County Maintenance Manager, told commissioners a recent multi‑day power outage highlighted weaknesses in emergency backup and distribution across county facilities.
Kressley said the outage provided an opportunity to see which systems were on backup power and which were not, noting server rooms and some building systems experienced partial outages due to power leg loss. The department is seeking contractors and bids to improve redundancy across county facilities so buildings can operate for extended outages without critical failures.
Planned work includes a funded chiller upgrade at the Justice Center (funded in FY26), HVAC control upgrades for the records facility to monitor humidity and protect stored documents, and adding emergency power circuits to cover refrigerated storage at the Justice Center. Kressley said the Justice Center currently has diesel storage and generator capacity; he expects to correct refrigeration backup circuits in the coming week.
Kressley also described cross‑training maintenance staff to work alongside contractors at the Justice Center so the county retains in‑house capability to respond to mechanical and electrical issues. He explained procedures for lowering hydraulically stuck elevators in emergencies and noted the Kalispell Fire Department also has trained personnel and keys for elevator rescues.
Commissioners asked about long‑term resilience and whether CIP adjustments are needed; Kressley said he is prioritizing generator and air‑handler coverage to prevent freezing pipes and other long‑term damage if outages last multiple days.
