Sheldon, Iowa — During their meeting Wednesday afternoon, the Sheldon City Council voted to approve upgrades to the City’s computer network.
City Manager Sam Kooiker says the City’s current server was put into service in May, eight years ago. He says the typical server lifespan is normally about five years, and this is the point at which many of the moving components begin to break down. Wayne Barahona of Super Hi-Tech in Sheldon has quoted a price for a new server at just under $2,650. In addition, the City heard from Barahona on the topic of Managed Services for the sixteen computers on the City’s network. That includes antivirus, software patch management, remote system monitoring and enterprise-grade filtering of all incoming and outgoing email. Cost quoted by Super Hi-Tech for the managed services is $3,134. The Council voted to approve both purchases, with Councilman Barahona abstaining from the vote.
Councilman Brad Hindt, who is also Sheldon Fire Department 1st Assistant Chief, brought the Council up to date on the progress the department has made in investigating a replacement of the department’s aerial ladder truck. The truck’s ladder unit was heavily damaged in March when it collided with a tree limb. Insurance adjusters determined that the cost to repair the unit would be greater than the truck’s value. Hindt told the Council that he, along with two other officers of the Sheldon Fire Department, travelled to Huntsville, Alabama last week to look at a used aerial truck. He said there were some things about that particular truck that would need to be done before the department would be comfortable recommending its purchase to the Council, and that they were doing their due diligence on those items. He said the department is also looking at the price of a new aerial ladder truck so that they can compare whether a used truck or a new truck would be more cost effective over the lifespan of the vehicle. He said delivery of a new truck would take about a year, while he estimated delivery of a used one to be in the 90 to 120 day window. Hindt told the Council the department would continue trying to find the best option for the City.
