Emergency Management in Columbia County, Georgia was under the Emergency and Operations Division Director. The Emergency and Operations Division provided direct oversight of the Risk Management, Senior Center, Public Transit, Fleet Services, Emergency Management, Animal Services, 3-1-1 Customer Service and Information Center departments and also managed the contracts for Georgia Department of Public Health, Georgia Department of Family and Children Services and Georgia Forestry.
As Deputy Director of Emergency Management the following volunteer teams were managed:
- Mobile Operations Center Team (19 Member Team)
- Dive Rescue and Recovery Team (40 Member Team)
- Community Emergency Response Team (over 600 Member Team)
- Volunteer Reception Center Team
- Points of Dispensing Team
- 4×4 Vehicle Team
- Damage Assessment Team
- Emergency Operations Center Team
- Designed the EOC Floorplan
- Designed and Coordinated the entire site build of the EOC Tower Site
- Researched, purchased, installed, configured and trained personnel, both paid and volunteer, on Telex Radio Dispatch Solution
- Amateur Radio Team
Many of the other departments in the Emergency and Operations Division utilized my capabilities ultimately providing better service, maintaining a lean staff all while saving tax payer funds. Some saving opportunities include:
- Utilizing surplus equipment to outfit the Senior Center with an audio amplification system to provide clear audio to those participating in activities
- Leading the efforts on the Narrowband Requirement and Reprogramming the majority of VHF-Hi Radios within the county prior to the Narrowband Mandate
Additionally the following were some additional responsibilities:
- A member of the Safety Review Board (Risk Management)
- Provided consultation between end users and database/CRM provider (3-1-1 CSIC)
- Designed, implemented and trained staff on a separately hosted backup 3-1-1 CRM for use when the main solution was unavailable (3-1-1 CSIC)
- Backup Meal Delivery Vehicle Operator (Senior Center)
Detailed List of Major Contributions:
- Designed and oversaw the build of the Columbia County Emergency Operations Center with over 7000 square feet of space including a 24 position Operations Room, Communications and Warning room with 5 Radio Consoles, 4 Call Stations, 1 Amateur Radio Station, VIPIR Radar Station, EMnet, Weather Message and Multimedia workstation
- Grant Management; Grant Writing, Receive Grant Awards totaling well over $20 million, Purchase Equipment installed by Volunteers which saves money and allows for more equipment to be purchased while allowing the volunteers to have a vested interest in the team and mission
- Worked with End Users, County Information Technology and Tyler Technologies to design and develop an Incident Management Program for the Columbia County 3-1-1 Customer Service and Information Center
- Selected to serve on several vendor evaluation review panels for selecting benefit packages for the entire county
- Retirement Solutions
- Healthcare Solutions
- Introduced the idea and Coordinated the Columbia County, GA EOC Amateur Radio Call Sign for EOC Activation and for use in Weather Station Data Upload
- Purchased, installed and maintain the Columbia County EOC Weather Station which uploads data to several sites including MADIS where the National Weather Service and local news media use the data
- Developed the Columbia County Dive Rescue and Recovery Team Standard Operating Guideline which was approved by the Columbia County Board of Commissioners in August 2014
- Conducted Commodity Flow Study in 2010 in I-20 both East and Westbound
- Conduct various full scale, functional and tabletop exercises
- Participated in various stages of participant, controller, evaluator and safety officer in exercises
Detailed List of Responsibilities:
- Maintain the Columbia County Emergency Operations Center in a state of readiness 24/7/365
- Responsible for Emergency Services Division Director duties during absences
- Provide notification to Commissioners, Administrators, Mayors and Department Heads of the nature and magnitude of events during the absence of the EMA Director
- Activate and Staff Emergency Operations Center
- Provide timely activation of public warning systems including but not limited to the Emergency Alert System (EAS), NOAA Alert Radios, Telephone Notification Systems, etc.
- Appointed to the Local Emergency Planning Committee since 2002
- Currently serving as a member of the Safety Review Board since 2009
- Privileged to Incident Data Tables and Workers Compensation Claims
- Served as the Emergency Services Division Safety Officer from 2009 to 2011
- Communication Assets Survey and Mapping (Next Generation) Point of Contact for Columbia County, GA
- Served as Infrastructure Committee Chair for the Columbia County Hazard Mitigation Plan in 2005, 2008 and 2015
- Serve as the Administrator and Contact for the majority of the FCC Licenses coordinated for Columbia County, GA
- Maintain the access control to the Columbia County Emergency Operations Center as well as other assets which require access by volunteers
- Maintain and Update the Emergency Operations Center Clock System
- Conduct reconnaissance for volunteer team prior to deployment
- Perform Maintenance and Repair of technology related equipment on board the Columbia County Mobile Operations Center
- Manage county WebEOC user credentials
- Research, evaluate, program and manage countywide disaster management software (DLAN)
- Implement, manage and train on Crisis Track Damage Assessment software solution with county staff and Damage Assessment Team members
- Manage Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) courses and refresher course (over 500 certified CERT volunteers since 2004
- Conduct Public Education/Preparedness Programs for schools, civic organizations, community groups, etc.
- Conduct training and exercise for seven specialized EMA Volunteer Teams
- Write and achieve grants for communications equipment enhancements for the Columbia County Mobile Operations Center
- Perform weekly tests on all EOC Communications and Warning equipment and resolve any deficiencies found during tests
- Conduct Community-Wide Prepare and Aware Day Public Safety Day with local, state and federal public and private sector participants in 2004, 2011, 2013 and 2016
- Coordinate upgrade of EOC communications equipment including but not limited to two way radios, radio consoles, amateur radio, display and connectivity devices, emergency power, etc.
- Assists in the Development of Emergency Management Plans
- Damage Assessment Plan
- Hazard Mitigation Plan
- Local Emergency Operations Plan
- Animals in Disaster Plan
- Dam Failure and Flooding Evacuation Plan
- Manage Volunteer Teams including Training, Staffing, Readiness and Response
- Mobile Operations Center (25)
- Dive Rescue and Recovery Team (40)
- Community Emergency Response Team (533)
- Points of Dispensing Team (9)