SURPRISING STUFF
Walworth County is moving forward with the purchase of new radios in its 911 Municipal Radio System Replacement project.
The Walworth County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution that would set the parameters for the purchase. The project, which started several years ago, is nearing a point where the new radios can be ordered by agencies. This includes the City of Lake Geneva that will be benefiting from a grant given by the county to help cover the costs. The city has been in desperate need of new radios but has been waiting, knowing the new system was in the works. The total cost of the project, including the money from ARPA, has a budget of more than $20 million. The resolution defined how much agencies could receive out of the $2.4 million of American Rescue Plan Act money set aside by the county for the new radio system. At this point the county is looking for locations to place the new towers putting every municipality in the county on the same system. This will make it much easier and faster for surrounding departments to respond when help is needed.
The resolution outlined three different tiers that would be used to allocate funds at 40%, 20% and 10%, depending on how much money agencies spend. The initial payment will be at 40% for the first $300,000 of qualifying expenditures, while Tier 2 is 20% of qualifying expenditures exceeding $300,000 but not $600,000. Tier 3 is 10% of qualifying expenditures exceeding $600,000. Most agencies are expected to fall into the Tier 1 payments. agencies will get cost savings if they can get their order in by Dec. 15, but those same agencies can add items into next year. There will be a 45-day cutoff notice given to agencies regarding ordering to receive aid from the county. The City of Lake Geneva has already approved the purchase of the new radios and has budgeted to take advantage of the discount offered by the county.
Komfort Heating and Cooling.
A neighbor’s heater died during this year’s coldest night, so I was called in (the neighborhood Mr. Fixit). I could not figure out why the heater would start but then quit after about ten minutes, leaving the home at about 60 degrees, too cold to do anything but sleep under many blankets. There was a pasted-on tag behind the heater unit prominently displayed on the hot water heater. I decided to call the number and then hope. Kathy answered the phone on the second ring. The nicest person, with the most appealing voice. I told her the problem, after she laboriously made me give her all the identification and address data. I waited then for her response, which was not at all what I expected. “Nick will be there in two hours,” she said. “Nick?” I replied. “Nick the technician,” she finished, and then hung up. I told my neighbor that Nick the Technician would arrive intwo hours. He looked back at me as skeptically as I looked at him. I went home. An hour and a half later I saw the Komfort van pull into my neighbor’s driveway. I rushed over. It was a good thing I did. Nick pulled the cover of the heater off and asked if anybody had checked the water condensate reservoir.
I shook my head, along with my neighbor, neither of us having a clue about what a water reservoir might be or where it was located. Nick operated on the machine, pulling out a small plastic boxy thing. He took it to the sink and ran water through it while blowing mightily into one end. Black junk came out the other end until it was clear. Then minutes later the ‘reservoir’ was back in the heater, and it was working fine. Seems there was a pressure switch to turn off the heat once the blocked-up water tank got too filled. The tank would slowly let out the water and the heater could be turned back on. Ten minutes, there and gone. On a Sunday. Christmas Sunday. $134 was the charge. Who would ever have guessed that out here, on our own, in the countryside, such operations like Komfort existed and then were manning the phone and equipment on Christmas Day? My neighbor and I have Komfort stickers stuck all over the place in our basements. It’s almost like we want something to go wrong so we can watch the genius and wonder of Nick the Technician doing his thing. Call 262 723 2662. You’ll be amazed, and they don’t even advertise in the GSR.
