Normal amending budget to fund EOC move

Posted on June 1, 2015

The Normal Town Council will vote on a budget amendment to help fund moving the town’s EOC. (Adam Studzinski/WJBC)

By Adam Studzinski

NORMAL – Normal is planning to move the location of its Emergency Operations Center.

To do so, the Town Council must approve a $60,000 budget amendment. City Manager Mark Peterson said the plan is to move the EOC from the old City Hall building to the basement of the Fire Department headquarters.

“That’s a larger space and it’s got ample backup power,” said Peterson. “We do have to install some equipment there for communication purposes and for technology primarily.”

The council will vote on the budget change Monday night. Peterson explained the new EOC will be a “warm” center. This means it can be quickly activated in the event of an emergency.

“There’s a little bit of time to get equipment out of racks, get tables set up, plug in devices and so forth,” said Peterson. “But it can be done relatively quickly.”

Peterson said it’s important to have an EOC because in an emergency the town needs a central, safe location for major decision-makers to go.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].

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