Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners press for answers after months of generator troubles and repeated rentals
Summary
The board pressed staff April 13 for documentation and decisions after prolonged generator failures forced the county to rent temporary units, drawing concerns about $2,000 monthly rental costs and slow contractor repairs that affect 9‑1‑1 operations.
Alger County commissioners spent a substantial portion of their meeting on April 13 discussing repeated generator failures, rental costs and contractor responsiveness after a prolonged outage affected county operations and 9‑1‑1 backup power.
Commissioners reported the county has been renting a temporary generator at roughly $2,000 per month and questioned why repairs have dragged on. One commissioner said, "If another storm hits before they fixed it, I never envisioned that this would take this long," and asked staff to provide copies of invoices and documentation. Another commissioner expressed concern that a contractor might be "milking the cow" by delaying repairs while collecting rental fees and questioned who authorized payments. UP Energy Systems was mentioned in the discussion as the contractor performing work on the generators; commissioners asked staff to obtain copies of bills and to contact the vendor for clarification.
Staff said some repair options were blocked by state rules (for instance, routing power from an alternate generator was rejected by state authorities) and that the county is exploring whether to repair its original unit, purchase a replacement, or continue renting. The board directed staff to collect bills, clarify authorization, and return with a recommendation on whether to purchase, repair, or continue rental arrangements.
