Access to the Public Input Survey for the Keweenaw County Emergency Operations Center Opens

The Keweenaw County Sheriff will begin seeking public input on the early stages of planning for the Keweenaw County Emergency Operations Center. Yesterday Sheriff Curt Pennala opened access to an online survey for residents and community stakeholders to participate in. Later in the month, the county will hold a public comment period prior to the county commission meeting.

Keweenaw County plans to build a facility that will act as a multi-faceted center for training and housing equipment. As a central training facility, the center will give first responders a reliable place to participate in various training opportunities. Both in person and virtually. The facility will also ensure specific equipment can be housed for training purposes and emergency response. A third aspect the project will bring to Keweenaw County includes acting as a central operation for emergency and health responses in the community.

Planning for such a project to house several vehicles and types of equipment for emergency response and rescue will take about a year and a half to complete. Sheriff Pennala says that getting public input on the project will allow the county to more effectively finalize the community’s needs and desires for the development.

This first stage of the Keweenaw County Emergency Operations Center is supported by the recently awarded rural readiness grant the sheriff’s department received in January totaling 50,000 dollars. The public survey will stay open until February 23rd. A public hearing on the project will be held by the Keweenaw County Commission on February 21st starting at 5 pm. Find the survey link here.