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Council directs manager to pursue East-side police substation and hardened emergency operations center
Summary
The council approved a resolution directing the manager to identify locations, pursue short‑term leases and seek funding for a long‑term, hardened police substation and combined emergency operations center (EOC) on the city’s East Side.
The City of Homestead council on Jan. 22 unanimously approved a resolution directing the city manager to identify suitable locations on the East Side for a police substation and to pursue funding for a long‑term, hardened emergency operations center (EOC).
Councilmember Tom Davis, who sponsored the item, said the measure is intended to “get the cart on the road” and urged staff to proceed with both a short‑term lease option and a long‑term capital plan. City staff told the council the short‑term option would seek available lease space or developer‑provided sites while the long‑term option would pursue grants and appropriations for a hardened facility that could function as a multi‑agency EOC during major incidents.
Why it matters: council members said an East‑Side substation would reduce response times for residents in growing neighborhoods and that combining the site with an emergency operations center would strengthen regional disaster response capability. The manager noted that designating the project as a substation/EOC improves the city’s prospects for federal and state funding.
Council action and next steps: Davis moved and Councilmember Avila seconded the motion. The council approved the resolution on a unanimous roll call. The council directed staff to: (1) compile candidate locations and return with proposed short‑term lease options for council approval, (2) pursue state and federal grant opportunities for a hardened EOC (including URA/FEMA/state resilience grants), and (3) involve the police chief and Miami‑Dade emergency management officials in technical specifications and siting. The council asked staff to return with estimated acreage, footprint and cost when available.
Implementation notes: the city manager said the police chief (Chief Mario Knapp) and county emergency manager Pete Gomez will be brought into the technical evaluation team. Staff described the long‑term facility as designed to withstand severe weather and to host multi‑agency coordination during disasters. The item was framed as both a public‑safety upgrade and a grant‑driven capital priority for the city.
