Washington County emergency management council reviews grants, new EOC, budget and notification plans

The Washington County Emergency Management Council met in Bartlesville to review the office’s annual activities, grant awards and a proposed budget, and to approve minutes from its June meeting.

The meeting focused on grant-funded programs and capital projects that county staff said have substantially increased the office’s workload and expenditures over the past year. Carrie Cox, director of Washington County Emergency Management, told the council the program follows requirements in Oklahoma Title 63 and a local ordinance that together establish the joint city–county emergency management arrangement. "We kind of let time get away from us," Cox said, apologizing for the meeting’s late scheduling.

Cox highlighted a series of grants and disaster reimbursements. Deputy director Melissa Mays reported the office manages nearly $500,000 in recent grant awards for the year on the county side, including a $149,745 NextGen 9-1-1 grant, $153,000 in funding related to the Circle Mountain/Gap Road fire response and $44,390 tied to tornado response. Mays said the hazard mitigation safe-room rebate program paid $382,310 to fund 117 private safe rooms and in-home shelters for county residents. "It's somewhere between 40 and 50," Mays said when asked what percentage of the office’s annual budget is funded by grants.

Cox said nearly all of the new Emergency Operations Center (EOC) facility’s roughly $6 million buildout came from grant funds; no city funds have been used to date, he said. The office is occupying the new facility but does not yet have full communications in place. Cox explained the city’s warning siren control box remains at the old DSR Building and cannot be moved until communications at the new EOC are fully functional. Staff plan to install a second control box, test the sirens, then decommission the old box so the new EOC can assume siren activation. Cox confirmed siren activation for Bartlesville is not remotely accessible from the new site and that staff will station personnel at the control location when storms are pending.

On mass-notification systems, Cox said vendors’ technology and pricing have changed since the council last considered the item. He has narrowed the selection to four providers and received updated demonstrations and budgets from two; he expects the remaining demos within weeks. The estimated recurring cost for the city portion is about $7,000 per year, and the county portion between $35,000 and $40,000 per year, Cox said. The platform under consideration would allow unlimited users and be available for public-facing and internal notifications across city and county agencies.

On the budget, Cox said accounting differences between the city and county make direct comparisons difficult. He gave total expenditures for the program this past year as $650,778.70 and described a proposed operational budget in the packet with a total of $363,688.39. Cox explained that differences in the spreadsheet reflect grant-managed expenditures and the shared-pay arrangement for John Mosley, the county’s 9-1-1 coordinator and floodplain administrator, whose wages are 25% city and 75% county under the intergovernmental agreement.

The council voted to approve the minutes of the June 3, 2024 meeting. A motion to approve was presented and seconded; the roll call recorded ayes from Mister Chiville, Mister Dunlap, Vice Chairman Antle, Mister Sherrick, Mister East, Mister Kirkpatrick, Mister Dorsey and Chairman (Kurd/Kirk), and the motion carried.

Cox also noted ongoing work closing FEMA projects from the Gap Road/Circle Mountain fire and the May tornado responses and said funds from those closures are being distributed to participating departments. He described volunteer work to update the shelter registration list, noting volunteer Ed Wallace spent several months conducting site visits and data cleanup.

After questions, the council had no further comment and adjourned.

Ending: The meeting closed with agreement to continue work on the mass-notification selection and to finalize communications at the new EOC before fully decommissioning the old site.