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Onondaga County Officials Show Off New Emergency Site Onondaga County Officials Show Off New Emergency Management Site

By Karl Winter

KARL WINTER: County lawmakers got their first look today at the place where its emergency management staff will soon move. County official Dan Wears explains why the move is important.

DAN WEARS: It’s our job to be prepared for anything that can happen in the County and to write plans for that, and to have processes in place for how we’re going to coordinate. To put us in a better location is going to expedite the manner in which that happens.

WINTER: The County received one million dollars in federal funding for the project, and Executive Ryan McMahon allocated another one-point-one to seal the deal.

WINTER: The emergency ops center will move from its current downtown home in the basement of the Mulroy Civic Center over to its new home — here, in Liverpool, which gives the Emergency Management team twice as much space to operate, as well as its own parking and training facilities in case of emergency.

WINTER: Wears says if a widespread emergency — like a pandemic — happens, the County is better prepared with the new facility.

WEARS: So specifically with downtown, one thing it’s going to allow us to do is to increase our capacity and technology that we have. When I say capacity, I mean the number of people who are able to work with us to coordinate the response and recovery to a larger-scale incident.

WINTER: Linda Ervin is one of the legislators who saw the facility for the first time on today’s tour. Ervin was impressed by the condition of the former Army Reserve site.

LINDA ERVIN: Well, I didn’t think it would be as well-kept, because it’s been vacant for five years — and it looks like they just walked out yesterday. It’s going to be a great addition to our roster of buildings that we’ll have for the County.

WINTER: In Liverpool, Karl Winter, NCC News.

LIVERPOOL, N.Y. (NCC News) — Onondaga County is beginning work on a new home for its emergency facilities.

County Legislators and officials from the County’s Facilities Management, Emergency Management and Public Safety teams toured the buildings at 420 Electronics Parkway in Liverpool on Tuesday, which will soon be renovated to house the emergency staff. The site replaces the current Emergency Operations Center, located in the Mulroy Civic Center downtown.

The federal government allotted Onondaga County $1 million through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in April. Coupled with $1.1 million allocated from the County, the renovation project is soon to move from the design phase to the construction phase, said Dan Wears, County Emergency Management Commissioner.

The six-and-a-half acre property includes two large structures, formerly used by the U.S. Army Reserves before the County inherited the site. The structures are set to house Wears’ team and the Emergency Operations Center, as well training areas for law enforcement and first responders, Wears said.

The new facility provides twice the space as the current setup in the County office building, as well as the capacity to host other meetings and agencies if the downtown County offices are unavailable during an emergency situation. Despite a five-year vacancy, the buildings remain in good condition, County Legislator Linda Ervin said.

The first step of the building’s makeover will take place in the first week of November, when the flooring is removed and replaced.

Wears and the Facilities Management team expect the building to  be ready for operation in late 2023.

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