Brown County Commissioner Joel Kelton was very concerned last year about the frequency of power outages in the May community.  For the years 2017, 2018 and 2019, May experienced an average of six and a half power outages annually. During electrical outages, the May water system cannot pump water. Residents have no water for drinking or for other household purposes. Fire trucks cannot be refilled. The shortest outage has been 30 minutes, the longest 27 hours. The average outage is 4.25 hours.

According to Brown County Grant Coordinator Bob Contreras, Commissioner Kelton initiated a county grant which resulted in the installation of a $15,000, 35 kilowatt, 120/240 volt, three-phase, Briggs & Stratton generator. To keep the generator running for long periods, Kelton purchased a 500 gallon propane tank and an automatic transfer switch. The total cost of this project was $20,291.

The people of May no longer have to worry about being without water, even when they have no electricity.