The Elgin City Council has given a green light to the purchase of an $826,000 mobile emergency vehicle to replace the unused Emergency Operations Center in the basement of the city’s municipal building.
Equipped with modern technology, the 42-foot-long unit will enhance the city’s ability to respond to and manage emergency crime and fire situations with the use of telescoping cameras, Wi-Fi, internet access for up to six news feeds, work stations and a conference room, said Fire Chief Robb Cagann, Elgin’s emergency services director.
But it can also be used for a wide variety of other purposes, including natural disasters like tornados and floods, large water main breaks or even community events, like Nightmare on Chicago Street, Cagann told the Elgin City Council this week.
Perhaps the best part for city officials is the money to pay for it is already in hand. There’s more than $1.8 million available in the city’s Ground Emergency Medical Transportation fund from payments Elgin receives for providing medical transportation services for Medicaid patients, Cagann said. By year’s end, it could be more than $3 million, he said.
“It’s an additional revenue stream that was identified and now we’re taking advantage of it,” Cagann said.
Councilwoman Tish Powell lauded the fire chief’s proposal at Wednesday night’s meeting.
“I think emergency management is a topic or issue that, unfortunately, a lot of us take for granted,” Powell said. “And we really don’t think about it until something happens and at that point it’s too late to plan, to mitigate the circumstances you find yourself in.”
Elgin is now the sixth-largest city in the state and if there’s an emergency, it can’t wait for the county or state to come help, she said.
“We, as a local municipality, will be responsible for helping ourselves in the event of a natural disaster or some other unforeseen emergency that occurs,” she said.
Mayor David Kaptain also supported the idea, in part because Elgin will also be able to use the vehicle when help is needed in neighboring communities. “This creates an opportunity for us to take on a leadership role in this region,” he said.
“I remember 12 or 14 years ago we brought some people up from Joplin, Missouri, to talk about a disaster they had and what they had done and what issues they faced,” Kaptain said. “You don’t realize what a town looks like when you can’t see street signs anymore and there are no landmarks. It’s what happened.”
The mobile unit should last for about 30 years, Cagann said. It’s being custom built by LDV Custom Specialty Vehicles using a base frame that is compatible with other city vehicles so replacing parts will be easier and less costly, he said.
It will be stored by the fire department but will be a city vehicle accessible to all departments.
Barring any changes, the purchase will be approved in a few weeks via the council’s consent agenda. It will take about a year for the unit to be built, Cagann said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
"emergency" - Google News
September 25, 2021 at 04:54AM
https://ift.tt/2XJRfBJ
Elgin council gives OK to buying $826K mobile emergency center using federal money city gets from Medicare - Chicago Tribune
"emergency" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2VVGGYQ
https://ift.tt/3d7MC6X
emergency
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Elgin council gives OK to buying $826K mobile emergency center using federal money city gets from Medicare - Chicago Tribune"
Post a Comment