The Greene County Public Safety Coordination Center includes offices for the Emergency Operation Center, Multi-Agency Coordination Center, Regional Joint Information Center, multi-use areas, Greene County Information Systems server room, and an alternate EOC of the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency. The structure is designed for LEED Silver Certification with the ability to withstand 250 MPH wind speeds in order to protect mission critical systems.
Check out the latest news on ADG’s Springfield/Greene County Public Safety Coordination Center project.
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110818/NEWS01/108180343/1007/Center-will-asset-disasters
It took months of digging and pouring concrete below ground level, but now the new Public Safety Center’s skeleton has begun to rise above the horizon.
The center, located near the corner of Campbell Avenue and Nichols Street, is set to open in spring. It will house Springfield-Greene County 911 dispatch and the Office of Emergency Management during normal day-to-day operation.
But during a disaster, the emergency operations center in the basement of the building will be coordinating more than 70 federal, state and local response agencies.
“This is going to be an asset to Southwest Missouri,” Greene County Director of Resource Management Chris Coulter said.
“This is not just for the county.”
The $19.7 million facility is funded through a combination of 911 tax revenue and several grants — including a FEMA grant and several grants for sustainable materials within the building.
The PSC, in addition to being able to withstand EF-5 tornadic winds, was designed to meet LEED silver specifications.
The effort to tornado-proof the structure has meant more than 2,800 cubic yards of concrete poured thus far for the facility, and more is expected, Coulter said.
The building will have windows with specially engineered glass covered by perforated metal sheeting. Although the sheeting will provide wind protection, it still allows light into the building and occupants inside will be able to see out, Coulter said.
Also included in the design is a garage-like area to house the equipment that Emergency Management officials depend on during a disaster. That includes Skylab, a mobile communications vehicle that proved vital in the aftermath of the Joplin tornado in May.
Skylab provided a communications tower for Joplin officials after the tornado destroyed cell phone towers in the area.
The design of the PSC will allow for equipment like Skylab to be stored inside. That way, Coulter said, if a disaster were to happen that required an Emergency Management response, necessary equipment for the teams would be protected.
The project is a few weeks behind because of persistent rain in the spring, but construction crews have made up quite a bit of time with the recent dry spell in the county, Coulter said.