Tyler Brothers of Becdel Controls, Niles, works to hook up a natural gas generator at the Brookfield Township Administration Building.

Tyler Brothers of Becdel Controls, Niles, works to hook up a natural gas generator at the Brookfield Township Administration Building.

Becdel Controls of Niles has installed natural gas generators at the administration/police department building, and the building housing the road and fire departments and the township social hall. Officials are waiting for a subcontractor to hook up the natural gas lines, which could be done within a week, Trustee Dan Suttles said.

Becdel’s bid, $81,690, was one of the three submitted.

The desire to install generators started when Police Chief Dan Faustino acquired a diesel generator in 2023 through a federal surplus program. However, an evaluation of the generator left officials unsure of its suitability.

Officials decided they wanted to do something after storms two years ago left many people in Brookfield without power for weeks at a time. The administration building was not affected and Trustee Dan Suttles opened the meeting room for people to come in and cool off and charge their phones. While only a couple of people showed up, officials decided there were likely to be more weather events causing hardships to township residents in the future.

“We’ve had some extreme weather in the past few years,” Suttles said.

The trustees are using their allotment of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the project.

“The main reason why we’re using ARPA funds for this is to provide a warming/cooling station in case of inclement weather, places for people to come and shelter,” Suttles said. “If the power’s out, we’ll be able to provide that.”

The generators also will keep the police, fire and road departments in full operation in case of power outages, officials said.

Becdel was responsible for pouring the concrete pads on which the generators will sit; installing a 48 kw generator at the administration building and an 80 kw unit at the road and fire department complex; and securing all necessary permits and inspections.

The fire department has had a generator, but it only operates a small portion of the fire department. The administration building does not have a working generator.

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