City Hall has contributed $15,000 to KPCW as the radio station raises money to purchase a backup generator that municipal officials say could serve an important public-safety purpose.

The money came from a budget item set aside for emergency programs, according to Hugh Daniels, who manages the programs. Daniels said the radio station tapped the Marsac Building’s backup power source when its operations were based there, but there is not a backup generator in KPCW’s new Swede Alley studios.

“I see it as one of our key tools in contacting the community in an emergency,” Daniels said, calling the contribution a “relatively inexpensive investment in the safety of the community.”

Daniels said the radio station currently uses batteries for backup power.

He said access to the radio station assisted city officials during the swine flu outbreak earlier in 2009 and it is desired during snow emergencies.

In a posting on KPCW’s Web site, the radio station said the generator costs approximately $33,000. Jonathan Klein, the station’s general manager, said Summit County contributed $10,000. Rocky Mountain Power provided a $1,500 grant, the Web posting said, and a fundraising drive brought in approximately $5,500 for the generator.

City Hall and KPCW have long had a close relationship, with the radio station keeping its offices in the Marsac Building for years before leaving for the Swede Alley building. The municipal government put up the building where KPCW is now based and then sold the space to the radio station.

Klein said KPCW plans to have the generator operational “as soon as possible.”

Park City has widened its preparations for an emergency in recent years, with the hiring of Daniels being one of the key moves. He is a critical figure as the local government designs responses to numerous emergencies, including problems with the drinking-water system, natural disasters like earthquakes, hazardous-materials spills and wildfires.

Daniels, meanwhile, said City Hall is developing a reverse 911 system that would automatically call people with information in the event of an emergency. It would likely be similar in function as one already in operation by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.