E. Palestine looks to buy new generator

By Virginia Ross

Council will consider renting city-owned property to put up a cell phone tower.

EAST PALESTINE — The city is looking into buying a new generator that would allow its dispatching center to operate more effectively during an emergency.

At a council meeting Monday, officials said the current generator, installed in the mid-1960s, was designed to run two radios and provide lights for portions of the jail and fire station.

“The problem is the generator can’t handle the equipment that’s being used now,” explained Gary Clark, city manager.

Officials said the city is using a seven-kilowatt generator, but needs a generator with a minimum of 20 kilowatts. During power outages, such as the one experienced earlier this month, the emergency center relies on the generator, but the 911 system can become overloaded, resulting in calls’ being missed or forwarded to East Liverpool’s emergency center, officials explained.

Police Chief Clyde Hoffmeister said he has contacted various generator distributors and will continue pursuing options available to the city.

Councilman Scott Rauch, who brought the matter before council, applauded emergency personnel for making the system work when the tower went down during the power outage Sept. 14.

”It’s obvious our generator is insufficient,” Rauch said. “But I really think that it’s a really huge issue. We dispatch for other municipalities, and I think it’s something we really need to consider. We have all this 911 equipment, but it’s not worth anything if there’s no power.”

In a related matter, city officials, including Mayor Raymond Hull, applauded work crews for their efforts during and in the aftermath of the Sept. 14 windstorms that swept through the area, causing thousands of residences and businesses to lose power for hours — in some cases days — and downing hundreds of trees and power lines.

“I just want to thank the crews for getting the town cleaned up and for getting the work done quickly,” Hull said. “Everybody in town appreciates the hard work and has commented on it.”

In other news, Clark said Verizon has asked to rent city-owned land near the More Lane water tower for the purpose of placing a cellular tower there.

Clark said the discussions are preliminary, and the matter would have to be presented to council for its approval before the city could enter into a rental agreement with Verizon.

Also, council announced a finance committee meeting has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Nov. 10.