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No rhyme or reason to city hall power outage
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A broken switch on a transformer caused power to be lost at Youngstown City Hall. Two backup generators provided electricity for the building though they didn’t help the entire structure. The problem also led city council to cancel its Wednesday meeting.
YOUNGSTOWN
It was a trying day for those working at city hall when a switch broke on the transformer that powers the downtown building.
The problem began shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday with the transformer in the building’s sub-basement. Two generators kicked in, but there didn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason as to their effectiveness at city hall.
For example, Mayor Jay Williams said his secretaries had working lights and computers while his office, a few feet away, was completely in the dark.
“I had nothing, no air conditioning, no computer, no lights,” Williams said. “I opened the blinds and the windows. Thank God for smartphones. I was able to email and return calls.”
The generators provided full power, including air conditioning, to the sixth-floor office of Buildings Commissioner Sean McKinney.
But he didn’t spend much time there as McKinney went up and down the stairs assessing the situation and responding to questions and concerns from city hall employees.
“It was nuts, but it’s not the end of the world,” he said.
The problem occurred while McKinney was on an elevator going to his office. The lights on the elevator flickered and McKinney said he “heard a loud screeching noise” before the elevator door opened. At that point, McKinney said he decided to shut down the two city hall elevators and the one elevator at the police department, attached to city hall.
Ohio Edison began repair work on the transformer about 7 p.m. after Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly of municipal court finished night court on city hall’s second floor.
In a case like this, David Turner, Ohio Edison area manager for Mahoning and Columbiana counties, said the company waits until after work hours to make repairs.
The power was restored by Ohio Edison about 10:30 p.m., Turner said.
City hall didn’t shut down and while it wasn’t a normal work day, only a handful of city workers left a little early Wednesday.
City council canceled its 5:30 p.m. meeting on the sixth floor and the Civil Service Commission canceled its 4 p.m. meeting on the seventh floor.
A generator that provided power to the police department — though most computers and some lights didn’t work — was a 39-year-old diesel machine that had to be watered with a hose from time to time to stop it from overheating, said police Chief Jimmy Hughes.
The police department temporarily moved its emergency 911 operations from the seventh floor of city hall to the Boardman Police Department. The fire department’s emergency operations were moved to a portable dispatch center in the Boardman police parking lot.
Also, the city borrowed Mahoning County’s mobile command vehicle Wednesday evening and put it in the city hall parking lot for roll call and to serve as temporary police station.
The problem forced the police and fire departments to focus on handling emergency calls.
Shortly before the power went out, Charles Shasho, deputy director of the city’s public works department, said he heard a “strange buzzing noise” on the first floor. When the elevator door opened, “lights were flashing like a haunted house,” he said.
Shasho decided to take the stairs. A short time later, portions of the fifth floor, where public works is located, were without power.
Some cash registers at the first-floor water department office didn’t work, but the office didn’t close, said Water Commissioner John Casciano.