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R-03-25 <br /> <br />A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A <br />GRANT APPLICATION TO THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT <br />AGENCY IN THE AMOUNT OF $12,396,994 TO SUPPORT CONSTRUCTION <br />OF A NEW EMERGENCY OPERATIONS COMMUNICATIONS CENTER FOR <br />THE CITY OF PORTSMOUTH. <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the City of Portsmouth's current Emergency Operations and 9t 1 <br />Dispatch Centers are located in an area below sea level and are protected from flooding <br />by the nearby Elizabeth River by a seawall only 8.5 feet above sea level; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, because of their location, these two critical and essential operations <br />are vulnerable to flooding and elimination from a Category III hurricane or from a <br />terrorist attack; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, in the event of the failure of the 911 Dispatch Center. the City <br />would be unable to dispatch emergency police, fire, or rescue services to its residents and <br />businesses, including the City's large military facilities and the Virginia Port Authority, <br />as well as to other Hampton Roads localities with whom the City of Portsmouth has <br />mutual aid agreements; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, in the event of the elimination of the Emergency Operations Center, <br />the same private, military, and commercial residents and businesses would not have <br />access to emergency evacuation information, nor would local officials be able to <br />communicate with their counterparts in other localities or with other levels of state and <br />federal government: and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the total cost of a new Emergency Communications Operations <br />Center is estimated at $18.510,714, for ~vhich the City is eligible to apply for a 75% or <br />$12,396,996 grant from Homeland Security Funds administered by the Federal <br />Emergency Management Agency; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the City Council thuds that the replacement of the current <br />Emergency Operations and 911 Dispatch Centers is of vital ~mportance to the security of <br />the City, the region, and the nation. <br /> <br /> NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of <br />Portsmouth, Virginia, that it strongly supports the construction of a new Emergency <br />Operations Communications Center; and <br /> <br /> BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Portsmouth, <br />Virginia, that the City Manager is hereby authorized to execute a grant application to the <br />Federal Emergency Management Agency for Homeland Security Funds in furtherance of <br /> <br /> <br />