Franklin County Commissioners are moving forward on plans to construct a new Emergency Operations Center at the Apalachicola airport.
On Tuesday the commission agreed to let their engineers draw up plans for a nearly 4900 square foot building – which is over a thousand square feet more than the current EOC.
Its not quite as big as the county had hoped they could afford, but they are planning the building so it can be expanded in the future.
They are estimating construction will run about 300 dollars a square foot, for a total cost of about 1.5 million dollars – which is about the amount the county has requested from the state legislature to fund the project.
There is no promise the county will get any construction money this year as the state is facing a budget shortfall because of the COVID-19 pandemic .
Franklin County does have a million dollars in BP oil spill money that could be used if necessary, though that money is needed for other expenses such as office furniture, IT equipment, a generator, site work, parking area, stormwater, and water and sewer hook ups.
A new EOC has been a top priority for the county for a number of years.
The current EOC building is located at the Apalachicola airport – it used to belong to the National weather service but was converted to Emergency Management use when the weather service moved to Tallahassee.
The aging building needs to be replaced – it's almost 50 years old, it is too small for an Emergency Operation Center and it's located is in a flood zone.
The new EOC will also be located at the airport, though in a better location.
Emergency Management Director Pam Brownell said when a new center is complete, the existing building will be used for storage and as a bunk house.
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