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West U 911 facility meltdown makes issue a priority
By STEVE MARK
With temperatures soaring past triple digits, the City of West University Place endured a minor scare Monday, signaling once again that the city’s police building and essential city services could be operating on borrowed time.
Police Chief Ken Walker entered police headquarters Monday morning to find sweltering conditions in one of West U’s computer rooms that houses the servers for City Hall and the “case tracker” system.
The room’s air conditioning unit broke down over the weekend, and heat in the mechanical room reached 99 degrees. The computer system did not shut down, though it took until Monday afternoon for the cooling system to be repaired.
“It was like opening the door of an oven,” said Walker.
The computer rooms, like most, need to be kept at about 70 degrees for equipment to function properly.
Walker and other city officials have long warned of the need for a new police building, which is over 25 years old. Down the hallway from the overheated mechanical room, across from the jail facility, is a small room that contains the city’s 911 system that nearly failed a week-and-a-half ago due to abnormal heat conditions.
The Harris County 911 monitoring system alerted West U. officials, who found the city 911 operation intact but vulnerable. The “911 room” is cooled with the help of a maze of portable fans.
“The frequency of the air conditioning problems have really increased,” said Walker. “We expect it to get bad in the summer time, but now it’s even worse.
“On top of it, this system is too old.”
Walker has been a frequent onlooker at City Council meetings, and has warned the council of the jeopardy the 911 system is in. During Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, flood water shut down the city dispatch system and threatened the 911 operation.
City leaders have publicly worried about the antiquated building, but have danced around the subject and investment. George Boehme raised the matter as a campaign issue and was recently elected to City Council.
“This now appears to be a high priority for the council,” City Manager Michael Ross said Monday. “I plan on presenting a sense of urgency” at the next council meeting June 13.
Ross added that past studies show other issues besides a faulty cooling system and an outdated electrical setup, along with the smallish sizes of the mechanical rooms housing the city’s computers. Foundation problems have become evident, too.
“Structural engineers say in all, these things can’t be repaired,” said Ross.
Should the West U 911 system fail due to cooling or electrical problems, the city’s calls would immediately route to Southside Place or Bellaire.
Police Chief Ken Walker entered police headquarters Monday morning to find sweltering conditions in one of West U’s computer rooms that houses the servers for City Hall and the “case tracker” system.
The room’s air conditioning unit broke down over the weekend, and heat in the mechanical room reached 99 degrees. The computer system did not shut down, though it took until Monday afternoon for the cooling system to be repaired.
“It was like opening the door of an oven,” said Walker.
The computer rooms, like most, need to be kept at about 70 degrees for equipment to function properly.
Walker and other city officials have long warned of the need for a new police building, which is over 25 years old. Down the hallway from the overheated mechanical room, across from the jail facility, is a small room that contains the city’s 911 system that nearly failed a week-and-a-half ago due to abnormal heat conditions.
The Harris County 911 monitoring system alerted West U. officials, who found the city 911 operation intact but vulnerable. The “911 room” is cooled with the help of a maze of portable fans.
“The frequency of the air conditioning problems have really increased,” said Walker. “We expect it to get bad in the summer time, but now it’s even worse.
“On top of it, this system is too old.”
Walker has been a frequent onlooker at City Council meetings, and has warned the council of the jeopardy the 911 system is in. During Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, flood water shut down the city dispatch system and threatened the 911 operation.
City leaders have publicly worried about the antiquated building, but have danced around the subject and investment. George Boehme raised the matter as a campaign issue and was recently elected to City Council.
“This now appears to be a high priority for the council,” City Manager Michael Ross said Monday. “I plan on presenting a sense of urgency” at the next council meeting June 13.
Ross added that past studies show other issues besides a faulty cooling system and an outdated electrical setup, along with the smallish sizes of the mechanical rooms housing the city’s computers. Foundation problems have become evident, too.
“Structural engineers say in all, these things can’t be repaired,” said Ross.
Should the West U 911 system fail due to cooling or electrical problems, the city’s calls would immediately route to Southside Place or Bellaire.
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