Following the first snow of the season, county officials were tasked with determining how to handle an issue with the current Carroll Courthouse generator. The 40-year-old piece of equipment was tripping the breakers during test runs, but the parts needed are no longer in production. Supervisors voted unanimously to rent a generator for about $850 per month with another $2,000 to $3,000 for installation while they wait for a unit big enough to generate emergency power for the new jail and the courthouse. A chance encounter last week, however, has changed the situation entirely, according to head of maintenance, Zach Niehaus.
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After looking at it, the gentleman got on the phone and was able to locate the part needed to fix the generator. Niehaus says he by no means believes this will be a long-term fix, but there is a negligible difference between the $4,139.61 estimate from CAT Zeigler and the potentially $5,000 for the first month of a rental. Niehaus says there are benefits to repairs.
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The supervisors voiced their approval of a fix over the rental option because of the recurrence of installation charges once the new, bigger generator is delivered after about three to four months of renting a unit. Dean Schettler says it would be a safeguard in the future as well.
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Neil Bock says it is a bit of overkill to have backup for the backup, but agreed with the others that once the permanent generator is in place, they would likely not look to spend any more money on repairs if it were to break down again. The supervisors approved the repair and also directed Niehaus to explore additional venting options to address an odor issue when the diesel-fueled generator is operated.