4/14/1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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TO: Board of County Commissioners THROUGH: James Chandler County Admi�tor FROM: Doug Wright,IDirector Emergency Services DATE: April 2, 1992 SUBJECT: Approval of Capital Equipment Expenditures for Emergency Management Immediate Notification System From Existing Funds - BUDGET AMENDMENT 023 It is respectfully requested that the information contained herein be given formal consideration by the Board of County Commissioners at the next regular scheduled meeting. DESCRIPTION AND CONDITIONS The Department of Emergency Services, Division of Emergency Management is continually striving to provide adequate and timely notification to the public and private sectors prior to emergency situations or conditions. Currently, the equipment and procedures used by staff do not provide an immediate notification of throating conditions within the county. Although Indian River County is vulnerable to many disaster events, a hazard analysis of our county demonstrates that weather conditions is the most constant threat to lives and property. Being a coastal county, tropical disturbance preparedness is extremely important. History tells us that the "late afternoon thunderstorms" pose a constant day to day threat to the entire county. These thunderstorms move into our area quickly and usually bring copious amounts of precipitation and strong winds. Unfortunately, on many occasions these thunderstorms spawn tornadoes which can produce winds over 300 miles per hour. In an effort to issue weather warning information, staff is proposing the creation of a notification system that will allow the Division of Emergency Management to announce this imminent weather information to designated locations immediately after a warning is received. The proposed system is actually very simple. From the Emergency Management Office, an encoder would be activated to send a message to a decoder or plectron of which seventeen (17) would be disseminated at designated locations throughout the county. Using this process, messages can be thorough, complete, and repeated as necessary. All seventeen (17) of the designated locations could and would be notified at the same time, at least within two minutes after Emergency Management received the weather or other important bulletin. The decoders would be located at municipal offices, hospitals, volunteer agencies, media centers, school board offices, law enforcement agencies, and the local emergency broadcast radio station. The Division of Emergency Management has $15,666 in reserve account #001-000-247-008.00 and staff proposes using $4,874 from this existing account to purchase and modify the necessary equipment. The account originally had $40,000.00 in it which was obtained in 1983 as a result of a development order. Resolution No. 81-59 notes the funds were to be used for emergency management purposes. The only prior approved expenditure from this reserve account was in late 1991 when the Board approved funding for the receipt of weather information from ZEPHYR WEATHER SYSTEMS after CONTEL WEATHER SYSTEMS ceased providing data services. 47 ��M [4 ri I