VANDERBURGH CO., IN (WFIE) -
In the future, Evansville and Vanderburgh County leaders may have new headquarters when dealing with emergencies. The Vanderburgh County Sheriff and EMA Director both say they want to move emergency operations to the jail.
This idea is in the proposal stage, but the plan is to utilize some available space at the jail for permanent operations of the EMA, as well as a gathering space for city and county leaders in a time of crisis.
Right now, the EMA office is off String town road near the old high school. They are in a leased building. This proposal would enable the EMA to move into the jail which is already owned by local government.
Sheriff Eric Williams says there is space available now that is currently used for storage and tactical defense training.
On top of daily EMA operations, it would also become the central place for people like the Mayor and County Commissioners to come when dealing with a disaster like a tornado or an earthquake.
"Of all people Public Safety. We tell people all the time, you need to have a plan. You need to have a backup. You need to be prepared. You need to, and we're a little behind on that as organizations. This is what we think is a good fit to make sure we have a plan and we have a backup and we're ready to go, so that we can support the public," Sheriff Williams said.
Again this is just a proposal. It's in the design and conceptualization stage. No funding has been approved yet.
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Right now, the EMA office is off Stringtown road near the old high school.
