During the Heflin City Council work session on Tuesday, Heflin Police Chief Robert Pittman updated the council of efforts to acquire equipment from a military surplus program. With a bulldozer recently added to city assets from the same program, Pittman said the city has been trying to locate a generator to use at the old armory building for emergency situations. He said a generator is available but the council refused the offer due to its unnecessarily large size and capacity.
“I’m not sure we need that much,” said Councilman Jerry Gaines as the council passed around an information package about the 500 kW diesel generator. Pittman estimated an emergency shelter located in the old armory would need only 100 kW and said the excessive capacity of the available generator would “eat diesel fuel” and might require an external fuel tank. The council was reluctant to accept the generator when questions of installation and maintenance could not be answered.
The military surplus program supplied Heflin with a bulldozer in July and the only costs incurred by the city were for transport from New Jersey to Alabama. Pittman said the same terms applied for the 17,000-pound generator located in Texarkana, Arkansas which was appraised “between $25 thousand- and $28 thousand as it sits.” The council agreed a generator of that size would not be necessary and declined receiving the surplus equipment.
-MDS
Sometimes we have to look outside the box and into the future.
ONE DAY: there could possibly be a new municipal complex where this could have been used for emergency power.
ONE DAY: there could possibly be an entertainment venue (Outdoor Jamboree) where this could have been used to supply all the power needed.
ONE DAY: there could possibly be a large conference center and/or civic center that could be used as an emergency shelter where this unit would be more suited
There are soooo many more possibilities not mentioned, but when we dont look at the “what can be” and settle for the “how it is”, its easy to not see the forest for the trees
I think it is smart and conservative thinking in tough economic times. Fuel costs are high, and storage tanks require regular and potentially expensive maintenance. Maybe the larger generator will be given, through the same generous program, to another more worthy cause. It’s possible that a more suitable generator will become available to them soon.