Elk Grove, California received Congressional funding as a part of the 2009-2010 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill for a $750,000 FEMA emergency center that has all the bells and whistles. There are cameras set up on all the major streets, so everything can be monitored. Its stated purpose is for emergencies, but why is this particular city getting a FEMA control center when there are so many other needs in this country?The center would be a communications hub used by various agencies to coordinate the response to a large-scale disaster...
The operations center will be housed in Elk Grove’s City Council Chambers, and will only be used when the emergency procedures are authorized by the city manager, Elk Grove city spokesperson Angela Frost said.
The $750,000 will pay for renovations to the chambers like an emergency generator, electrical and data ports, fiber optic cables and conduit, Frost said.
The funding will also provide for video cameras that would provide views of traffic at major intersections and roadways leading into and out of the city to relieve traffic congestion as well as “locations determined to be ‘sensitive’ for the purposes of Homeland Security,” according to a January Elk Grove staff report spelling out the city’s request for the funding.
Elk Grove Police Capt. Bob Risedorph said the cameras won’t necessarily be on city government properties.
“At this time I cannot tell you how many or where they would be other than they are intended to be critical traffic routes throughout the city and critical infrastructure or significant locations in the city,” Risedorph said in an e-mail. “The numbers and locations are yet to be determined.”
Source: Elk Grove Citizen
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