NORTH PORT, Fla. — City commissioners unanimously approved $1.7 million for a new emergency operations center (EOC) on Tuesday, after they previously raised concerns about the project.
WATCH: North Port's emergency manager talks about importance of new emergency operations center:
The city coordinates it's response to major disasters, like a hurricanes, from the EOC. Right now, North Port's EOC is a second-floor City Hall conference room. That is not an ideal location, North Port Emergency Manager Stacy Aloisio told Fox 4.
"We want to be able to continue to serve our community exactly how they need us to," Aloisio said. "It’s very difficult to do that when we don’t have the appropriate equipment, personnel, facilities, to be able to support them.”
The conference room doesn't have enough space, Aloisio said. There is no room for community partners like United Way and the Red Cross.
The emergency management team was forced to evacuate City Hall during Hurricane Ian, Aloisio said, because the building lost water and power. The new $14.7 million facility will have backup power, water, and communications.
It will also have a sleeping space, call center, and large coordination room to support 24 hour operations, according to a presentation from city staff.
The 16,000-square-foot facility will be located next to Fire Station 81, off City Center Boulevard. North Port is funding the project with building and surtax funds.
In October, city commissioners questioned whether the money could go to better use. North Port faces a long list of expensive projects to keep up with the city's growth, including a $115 million police headquarters.
WATCH: 'Totally out of room:' North Port weighs new direction on police headquarters
North Port is the only city in Florida that can't borrow money without city approval. In May, voters rejected bond issues for three major projects, including the police headquarters.
Commissioners are looking for new ways to pay for the plans. In October, they considered pulling money for the emergency operations center.
"We've got to get really creative, folks, on how we get it done," Commissioner Barbara Langdon said during the meeting. "Or no one's getting nothing. I mean that's where we're at."
WATCH: North Port weighs new direction on emergency operations center to save money
Commissioners considered rolling the EOC into a different project, like the new police headquarters. Aloisio and city staff pushed back on the idea.
The EOC and police headquarters are already designed. The city would have to spend more money to change those plans, according to a presentation from city staff.
On Tuesday, commissioners unanimously approved $1.7 million for the project. That money covers the construction contract, Aloisio said.
However, it doesn't guarantee the EOC will happen. Commissioners must give final approval to the project during it's Dec. 9 meeting.
"This is a really big step towards bring able to help our residents, our business owners, our nonprofit organizations in the city when they need us the most, which is after a disaster,” Aloisio said.
