For Immediate Release
Springfield-Greene County Public Safety Center to Protect and Serve
OFFICIAL RIBBON CUTTING: 10 A.M., MONDAY, AUG. 6, 2012
Springfield and Greene County officials and staff will cut the ribbon on a new public safety center at 10 a.m. Aug. 6. U.S. Senator Roy Blunt will be on hand for the event, which takes place at the center, located at 330 W. Scott Street at Boonville.
When fully occupied, the Public Safety Center will house Springfield-Greene County 911 and the Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management. The building will also include an Emergency Operations Center, from which more than 70 federal, state and local response agencies may coordinate and sustain 24/7 operations during a disaster event.
The building will also serve as a Multi-Agency Coordination Center for Region D, which covers 18 counties in southwest Missouri. The director for Missouri State Emergency Management Agency has also designated the center as the back-up for the state of Missouri.
The three-story, 56,000 square-foot building is built to withstand an EF-5 tornado (the size and strength of the 2011 Joplin tornado) and utility interruptions, providing secure workspace for emergency responders and state-of-the-art emergency communications technology used during disaster events. The energy-efficient building is designed to obtain LEED certification.
The $19.7 million building is funded by a variety of sources, including:
- $1 million FEMA grant, secured by Congressman Roy Blunt
- $1.1 million in COPS Technology grants, secured by Congressman Roy Blunt
- $450,000 Department of Energy grant, secured by Congressman Roy Blunt
- $300,000 Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant
- Up to $1 million a year in voter-approved 911 Sales Tax funds
- $550,000 Emergency Management Performance Grant
- $1.1 million per year of Greene County general revenue beginning in 2016 when bonds for other projects are retired.
The Springfield - Greene County Office of Emergency Management is responsible for emergency management issues within the City of Springfield and unincorporated Greene County, and serves the public in each of the four phases of emergency management.
- Mitigation: Lessening the impact of, or potential for, disaster occurrence.
- Preparedness: Providing training and drafting disaster plans.
- Response: Coordinating multi-agency response to current and impending disasters.
- Recovery: Providing for the welfare of the community and guiding it to a safer situation than before the disaster.
The Springfield/Greene County 911 Center is the hub of emergency communications throughout both the city and county. Acting as the central base of incoming9-1-1 emergency calls from the public, as well as outgoing communications to personnel in the field, the facility is the true "nerve center," incorporating a cooperative interaction of cutting edge technology and a highly-trained work force. The center provides dispatch for seven municipalpolice departments, 13 fire departments and the sheriff's department. There are 70 employees.
Quick Facts:
- The building houses 70 9-1-1 call takers, providing coverage 24 hoursa day.
- On a routine day, PSC is home to the 82 personnel.
- During a emergency activation, the building may house up to 200 personnel, including representatives of law enforcement, fire, utilities, public works, hospitals, public health, public information, national guard, state officials, relief agencies and more.
- The building is built to withstand winds of up to 250 miles per hour - a tornado the size of the one which hit Joplin. During an event of that scale, 9-1-1 call center and emergency operations center will remain intact.
- A 600 kilowatt generator provides emergency back-up power
- The building frame is constructed from 530 tons of structural steel
- The foundation and surrounding lot and structures consist of 5,146 cubic yards of concrete.
- The pouring of the foundation concrete required 9,195 working hours.
- A green roof creates 12,904 square feet of green space, where there was previously a parking lot.
- The visual display in the emergency operations center section is 16’ X 34’ and capable of displaying up to 16 individual information feeds.
- Building safety features: thinnest wall is eight inches thick, detail thickness of glass, generator backup, potable water, and dormitory for essential staff.
- Serves as the state's emergency back up, should the Jefferson City facility experience down time.
- 56,000 square feet of useable floor space
- 24,000 square feet of insulated duct, the equivalent of half and acre.
- 18,000 linear feet of insulated pipe, the equivalent of 3.5 miles.
- 35 miles of cable to support technology
For more information, contact Cora Scott at the City of Springfield, 417-864-1009 or Dale Moore at Greene County Office of Emergency Management,417-848-7777.