September 2003
In
February 2003, I requested a meeting with members of the
Emmitsburg Ambulance Company, Emmitsburg Fire Company,
Frederick County Deputies, town staff and elected town
officials. This meeting was planned to discuss “what would
we do if a disaster happened in Emmitsburg”. This meeting
was arranged due to the heighten levels of security put in
place by the Department of Homeland Security.
At our first meeting, it was
acknowledged that the fear of a man made disaster
(terrorist) was not as likely as a natural disaster (flood,
tornado, vehicle accident…etc). At our first meeting we also
decided that Mt. Saint Mary’s College, the Provincial House,
and the Fire Academy should be included in our discussions.
In April 2003 the Town arranged for the group to go to La
Plata Maryland to see an emergency warning system which was
installed after a tornado went through their town in 2002.
Prior to our visit to La Plata,
Emmitsburg Fire Chief, Frank Davis located and contacted two
companies that install emergency systems similar to the one
in La Plata and requested pricing information. After Mr.
Davis received information from both companies, Town
officials discussed with this group the functions that would
be desired for an emergency warning system in Emmitsburg.
We agreed to make it like La Plata’s system, which has a
warning siren followed by a voice announcement. The only
difference to the La Plata system, La Plata, only has one
unit for the entire town, which can not be heard all over
town.
The system planned for Emmitsburg will
have three units through out our town, with additional units
located at the Fire Academy and Mt. Saint Mary's College.
With three units in Town, the siren and voice announcements
should be heard at every location in Town. The purpose of
having voice announcements is to assure a means of
communication with the community. As the town of La Plata
found out, one of the most difficult problems during an
emergency is keeping the community informed of the
situation.
All three systems (Town of Emmitsburg,
Mt. Saint Mary’s and Fire Academy) will be controlled
primary from the Frederick County Central Dispatch (911)
Center. The Town of Emmitsburg will also purchase
additional equipment to have the capability to activate the
system ourselves. All equipment installed outside of the
Frederick County’s Central Dispatch Center and the site
designated as the Town of Emmitsburg’s command center will
be solar powered with a minimum of a 72 hour battery back-up
supply. Equipment installed inside the Frederick County’s
Central Dispatch Center and the site designated as the Town
of Emmitsburg’s command center is backed up with generator
power.
The initial cost of the Town’s portion
to install the three units in Town and connect to Frederick
County’s Central Dispatch Center will be approximately
$100,000.00 At this time, the county and the state have not
agreed to reimburse the Town for any of this cost. We will
keep trying. For future cost, a town ordinance has already
been enacted to charge developers an additional $200.00 in
impact fees for all new homes to cover the cost to upgrade
and enlarge the system as needed.
At the
August Town meeting, the commissioners with a 3-1 vote
agreed to go ahead with this project with the understanding
that the money will be borrowed internally within the town’s
general fund budget and or sewer/water budget. Since the
August Town meeting, I have had a financial meeting with the
Town Clerk, Town Manager and Town Accountant. At the time
of writing this article, it appears that the fund balances
from the Town’s general fund will cover the total cost of
this project and there may not be a need to borrow any money
for this project.
