House Appropriations Committee Advances New Public Safety Funding for Emergency Services and Public Safety Facility on the Olympic Peninsula
Kilmer-Led Effort Includes Nearly $3,000,000 for Clallam County and City of Port Angeles Joint Emergency Service and Public Safety Facility
Washington, DC – Today, the House Appropriations Committee advanced new federal funding that has been championed by U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) to support Clallam County and the City of Port Angeles’ construction of a Joint Public Safety Facility. The new facility will house the County’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and the City’s 911 emergency telephone answering system and public safety dispatching facility, known as Peninsula Communications (PenCom). The $2,965,800 will help support the effort to relocate, co-locate and modernize the County and City’s EOC and PENCOM-911 facilities in order to better serve the region’s residents and the general public - and ensure the emergency operations facilities on the North Olympic Peninsula can effectively operate in the event of a seismic disaster.
“The investment in this Joint Public Safety Facility is about protecting public safety. It’s about supporting law enforcement and emergency responders by ensuring they have a modern, resilient and capable facility to meet the needs of the people of Clallam County,” said Rep. Kilmer. “This facility will ensure local public safety authorities have the tools and resources they need to serve four tribal governments, three municipalities, an international airport, a state prison, and a National Park. I'll keep pushing to get this funding across the finish line.”
“The Clallam County Commissioners are extremely pleased that the joint project with the City of Port Angeles for the Emergency Operations Center and 911 Police Dispatch facility have the potential to secure approximately $3 million in funding,” said Randy Johnson, Commissioner Clallam County Board of Commissioners. “We are especially pleased that the Congressman took time to look at our outdated and seismically and electronically deficient facilities. We all recognize that in an event of a major disaster, the citizens of Clallam County absolutely need to have new facilities that are structurally secure at the Airport. This project has been in the planning stage for many years, and with Federal, State, City and County funding combined and all working together, the project completion is becoming a reality.
“The Clallam County Sheriff’s office would like to express our thanks for Congressman Kilmer’s interest and support for a joint Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and Police Dispatch facility. He succeeded in getting almost $3 million in funding to make the project move forward. This new facility will replace a seismically compromised EOC that is 44 years old. Congressman Kilmer and his staff have been with us for the past eight years as we have researched and planned this facility,” said Bill Benedict, Sheriff, Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
“The City of Port Angeles is so grateful for Rep. Kilmer’s support of this joint project with Clallam County,” said Kate Dexter, Mayor of Port Angeles. “The co-location of these operations in a new facility is critical for our community. This appropriation will help get this project to the finish line for the benefit of our entire county.”
“The City and the Port Angeles Police Department are very grateful to see our long-term project receive significant attention from our elected officials,” said Port Angeles Chief of Police Brian Smith. “This funding will help us move forward with a modern and survivable 9-1-1 center that serves the entire county and will be fully interoperable with the new emergency operations center”.
Clallam County is home to four tribal governments, three city municipalities, an international airport, a large senior citizen population, a state prison, a National Park, commercial and recreational boating harbors, and a burgeoning tourism industry. A contemporary, combined, and right-sized Joint Public Safety Facility aims to help ensure regional emergency services can help save lives, protect property, and assist every member of the public in their time of need.
At all times – and particularly during disaster situations – Emergency Management and 911 Dispatch are critical operations. According to the City or Port Angeles, current EOC and 911 dispatch facilities are not suitable for sustained emergency operations. The current communications room, located at the Fire Department, houses EOC communications equipment, emergency phone system communications, and data servers. With the planned addition of significant hardware and software assets, controlled heating/cooling and fire suppression capabilities are required. Additional emergency power and battery backup capabilities are also needed. The current 911 operation, located in the Police Department, is inadequately sized to meet future demands. Additionally, the location of the current facility is not seismically suitable and is not expected to survive a significant earthquake.
A Joint Public Safety Facility (JPSF) would allow for EOC and PenCom facilities to be co-located. According to the City, at a JPSF, the two entities would be able to more easily and quickly communicate in the event of an emergency. The JPSF would be located nearby the airport runway, where aid and relief would be brought into Clallam County in disaster situations. This modern facility would also allow for innovative technologies, such as solar power and satellite communications. In the future, the JPSF may also house a westside fire station.
Rep. Kilmer led the effort to secure funding for the project through the House Appropriations Committee’s Community Project Funding process.
The JPSF project is supported by: Ten Fire Districts / ambulance agencies, five law enforcement agencies, the Elwha Tribe, The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, The Makah Tribe, The Quileute Tribe, The Department of Corrections, The Olympic National Park, The City of Forks, The City of Port Angeles, The City of Sequim, Clallam County, The Port of Port Angeles, Washington State Patrol, Washington State Representatives Tharinger and Chapman, Washington State Senator Van De Wege, and United States Coast Guard – USGC Air Station, Port Angeles.