Eaton County facilities staff told the Ways and Means Committee on May 16 that last night’s storm left downed trees at Fox Park and prompted a facilities review of backup generator performance across county buildings.

Chad Powers, facilities director, reported the county’s jail generator failed a recent load test because of a radiator issue. The generator is a large, long‑running unit (model year cited as 1987) whose radiator replacement or rebuild will take an estimated two weeks; Powers said parts for that vintage unit are no longer produced and a rebuild is required. To avoid an operational gap while the radiator is repaired, the county will rent a temporary generator, a plan Powers estimated would cost about $35,000 (roughly $20,000 to rebuild the radiator and $15,000 for rental and hookup for roughly one month).

Powers said the failure was discovered during a third‑party annual inspection; had the generator overheated and shut down during the storm, the county would have faced the prospect of moving inmates. He said the replacement radiator measures roughly seven by seven feet and the full replacement cost of a new unit would approach $180,000.

Administration and facilities asked the committee to add the $35,000 repair/rental cost to the jail millage budget amendment; the committee agreed to include the request in the list of budget amendments to be considered by the full board. Powers said crews were also assessing damage at Fox Park and Bellevue crews were assisting; the park will remain closed until further notice.

What’s next: if approved by the full board, facilities will proceed immediately to rent a backup generator and arrange the radiator rebuild; staff said the preferred funding source is the jail millage fund.