Madison Township Administration Building outfitted with new electric generator

Bill DeBus, The News-Herald, Willoughby, Ohio
·2 min read

Sep. 5—Madison Township government leaders now can feel more confident that strong winds and stormy weather won't interrupt work in the community's Administration Building.

A project to equip the building with a new electric generator recently was completed.

Located at 2065 Hubbard Road, the edifice houses the township Police Department and administrative offices.

The township wanted to replace the building's previous 20-year-old generator because parts needed to maintain the device were either no longer available or very hard to find, Trustee Board Chairman Kenneth Gauntner Jr. said in late 2021.

At a recent trustee board meeting, township Administrator Tim Brown said it cost about $73,594 to rewire the Administration Building and outfit the structure with a new generator.

However, the township significantly lowered the cost by using about $62,000 in NOPEC Energized Community Grant funds. These grants, awarded by the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council, can be used by its member communities for projects that achieve energy savings or improve energy-infrastructure systems.

"When you subtract out the NOPEC grant money, the total project to rewire the entire building and get the building on a brand-new generator cost the township $11,596.55, out of pocket," Brown said.

Generator One of Mentor and Einheit Electric Construction Co. of Cleveland were the contractors that performed the project.

Gauntner said the new generator is a major improvement for the Administration Building.

"So now if we have a power failure, the entire building operates rather than just a small portion of it," he said. "We didn't have that ability before, when we lost power."

Township Police Chief Matthew Byers said the installation of the new generator was extremely important for his department.

"Our dispatch center relies on that as our primary backup for power outages," he said.

Byers said the Police Department had been having issues with the previous generator.

"It's been a concern of mine for quite some time, as the board of trustees is aware," he said during the panel's meeting. "So all the work on getting this brand-new generator in there, at a minimal cost, is very much appreciated by the Police Department."