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Winona Powder Coating issues tort-claim notice over outages; Etna Green board to consider executive session
Summary
A representative for Winona Powder Coating and its attorneys informed the Etna Green Town Board of a tort-claim notice alleging repeated electricity outages and equipment damage; the town attorney recommended scheduling an executive session to discuss litigation strategy and to collect outage histories from IMPA/RMC.
The Etna Green Town Board was notified of a tort-claim notice from counsel for Winona Powder Coating alleging repeated electricity outages that the company says have damaged equipment and put contracts at risk.
Town counsel said the firm delivering the notice represents SLS Group and that notice is a required precursory step before filing suit. He recommended the board schedule an executive session to discuss litigation strategy, the claim’s substance and next steps.
A company representative described the operational impact, saying outages of "45 minutes" can stop production, damage expensive machinery and lead to contract risk. The representative asked the town to permit the company to connect to an alternative utility (RMC) as a short-term remedy if possible, and offered to work collaboratively to find a solution.
Board members and staff asked whether Winona had pursued emergency backup generators and discussed the technical limits of generator transfer switching. Town staff said the town provided three-phase protection equipment in the past to protect motors from damage and that outages may be due to broader grid issues involving NIPSCO/IMPA/RMC.
Town officials said they would obtain outage-history records from IMPA and follow up; the town attorney and council agreed that an executive session should be scheduled to discuss the claim and strategy before any public deliberation.
Next steps: town staff to request and review outage history from IMPA/RMC; the board to schedule an executive session to discuss the tort claim and potential responses.
