Campus initiates disaster protection plans

The Nebraska State College System (NSCS) Board of Trustees awarded a $60,000 contract to Olsson Associates, of Lincoln, at their March 24 – 25 board meeting at Peru State College, to design plans for an emergency heat generator system.

The generators are being installed as a precautionary measure, in case of electrical failure, Blair Brennan, CSC physical facilities coordinator, said. To that effect, the generators are slated to either run on natural gas or diesel fuel, depending on the fuel source and capabilities of each building. “The funding is designated for a generator study, to tell us what size and style of generator works best for each of our locations,” Brenning said.

The proposed system calls for four generators to be installed in Miller Hall, Sheaman Heating Plant, Nelson Physical Activity Center, and the west half of the Student Center.

Brennan said the locations were chosen because of their strategic importance to the campus. He said Miller was chosen as a site to protect data and allow telecommunications transmission to continue in the event of a power outage. Sheaman Heating Plant was selected to provide continual steam production and thus hot water for the campus.

The west half of the Student Center was selected to serve as an emergency shelter for students in the event of a catastrophic accident or natural disaster.

Similarly, the NPAC will also be used as a shelter for a large number of individuals.

Brennan said he estimates that the design phase will be completed within the next month. The college will accept bids for the generators. Afterward, Brennan said there is a six-month window where bids would be received.

The emergency-heating project was initiated as a result of an assessment from the Nebraska Region 23 Emergency Management System (EMS), a federal entity serving Dawes County as one of a four-county range in Region 23.

Funding will be allocated, later, for the actual generator purchase and install,” said Brennan.

“We are working with the LB309 Task Force for Building Renewal, for the funding.”