Amount Requested: $709,500
The proposed funds would be used for renovations and the design and construction of an extension to the current emergency management facility, which will provide a dedicated Emergency Operations Center (EOC). This project will also fund the purchase of  additional equipment and technology.

Currently, in times of crisis personnel are forced to use the garage at the State Police barracks as an emergency operations center.  Cars must be moved out, tables set up, and phones must be connected to jacks on the ceiling, amongst other logistical problems. The space has heat in the winter, but the only ventilation in the summer is to keep the garage doors open, which is not conducive to nighttime operations or when pesticides are being applied to the cornfields that surround the barracks.

The creation of a functional emergency operations center would allow agencies called upon to manage a large scale disaster the freedom to handle the tasks at hand in an environment suited for this work.  With more disaster declarations than any other county in New York State, Ulster County's emergency responders need a permanent and capable facility with the appropriate modern technology to properly serve residents.