The San Marcos Exchange: Spring 2019

SMEU Installs Fault Circuit Indicators

we can achieve a significant reduction in restoration times.” For more information about the Fault Circuit Indicator Project, contact electricutilityinfo@sanmarcostx.gov.

These fault indicators are designed to reduce repair times by pinpointing fault locations

is making changes to attract potential adopters. At the public’s request, the adoption office has shifted their hours later in the day, and families looking to adopt a pet can now visit the shelter Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 12pm-7pm, and Saturday 12pm-5pm. “These hours are more convenient for families stopping by after work on weekdays,” said Animal Services Manager Kara Montiel, “With this new availability, we hope there will be even more chances for our pets to find forever homes.” This increase will hopefully continue the hot streak of adoptions Animal Services has achieved over the last year. Home 4 the Holidays 2018, a three month adoption special stretching from October 1-January 5, found a record-breaking 323 homes for San Marcos shelter pets. “We’re really working to increase our adoptions every season,” said Animal Shelter Supervisor Erin McCann. “Each new month is a chance for us to challenge ourselves and our staff to increase the amount of lives we can save in our community.” The City of San Marcos is currently installing fault circuit indicators on all 24 feeder circuits within the city. Fault indicators, which flash a light when they sense a fault on an electric line, are used to assist the city in locating problems requiring necessary repairs. These indicators provide a visual clue that a repair is needed and reduce the amount of time required to identify and correct an issue associated with an electrical line or circuit. After a fault, an indicator will flash for eight hours and automatically reset itself,

so there is no cause for alarm to see one or more of these indicators flashing in your neighborhood. “This is a very low cost program that will allow our lineworkers to quickly identify the location of trouble spots, isolate the faulted locations, and improve their ability to restore power to the rest of the circuit.” said Tyler Hjorth, Assistant Director of San Marcos Electric Utility, “With the number of trees, vegetation, animals, and storms that we have in San Marcos, eliminating outages altogether may not be feasible, but

Animal Shelter Adopts New hours, embraces new goals T he San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter

Shelter Supervisor Erin McCann enjoys some yard time with shelter dog Jibbs. Photo by Greg Mitchum Photography

An adjustment in hours isn’t the only change coming to Animal Services. The department is also preparing to relaunch its foster program, enabling volunteers to temporarily open their home to a shelter pet while they are waiting for their forever families. “It’s something that I know is very important to the community and to

the staff, so I’m excited to see the foster program relaunch,” said McCann, “If you’ve been interested in volunteering or fostering, now is the time to get involved!” For more information about the animal shelter, adoption or volunteering, visit www.sanmarcostx.gov/animalservices.

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