Utilities, boilers are cities' chief year 2000 worry

While large cities and major corporations have spent the past year preparing for possible computer failure on Dec. 31, 1999, several communities on Milwaukee County's South Shore are focusing their year 2000 solutions on other things.
Committees in Oak Creek, South Milwaukee, Cudahy and St. Francis have been researching the dreaded Y2K shutdown, and all have found that large, complex equipment, such as generators and heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems posed more of a problem than desktop computer systems.
After isolating the bigger problems, officials in Oak Creek and St. Francis have made what they believe are permanent fixes, and Cudahy and South Milwaukee aren't far behind. The alternative: randomly failing boiler systems any time after midnight Dec. 31, and completely failing citywide water distribution systems around the same time. "Computers have been the least of our concerns," said Caesar Geiger, the man in charge of guiding Oak Creek's year 2000 technology preparation efforts. Although Oak Creek has budgeted $187,000 to deal with the problem, computers didn't remain top priority for long. "The most difficult area to test has been embedded (computer) chips in things like (heating, ventilating and air-conditioning) systems, large generators and boiler systems," Geiger said. "We were concerned at one point that the water utility and all its systems would shut down." Ralph Voltner, St. Francis city administrator, said that his community has no intention of simply making its computers year 2000-compliant. Instead, St. Francis plans to take a quicker route and spend about $80,000 to replace all of the city's computers. They'll spend another $40,000 to $50,000 to buy an emergency generator. "The bottom line is that utilities are definitely a bigger issue," Voltner said. He added that since the manufacturers of the city's big equipment have given their assurance that everything is ready for the year's end, St. Francis officials will now concentrate on helping nursing homes and other private care organizations prepare. In South Milwaukee, administrative coordinator Tammy LaBorde is tackling the problem from a different angle. "Our Y2K committee has been researching problem areas and possible solutions," LaBorde said, "and within eight weeks, we will be in the process of selecting a vendor to test our software. But my biggest concern has been that people here don't get overly worried about a problem that might not happen. We want to educate people, not scare them." LaBorde has posted emergency procedure and shelter information on South Milwaukee's community Web site. She also plans to circulate surveys to businesses and homes and to post bulletins in the city's newsletter. The City of Cudahy will probably spend $250,000 to fix any potential year 2000 problems when all is said and done, City Clerk Phil Brannon speculated. As in Oak Creek, the first concern in Cudahy was computer shutdowns. "I'd say $176,000 of that money will go to computer compliance," Brannon said. "The rest will be for continuing maintenance" on large equipment with embedded chips. The key to Cudahy's preparation success has been trading ideas for solutions with neighbors, Brannon said. "We've been talking about encouraging people to form old-fashioned block parties," he said. "Find out which houses your elderly neighbors live in. Learn the names of your handicapped neighbors.