A federal spending bill signed this month will provide $3.1M to Lane County for critical public safety projects, including:
•$176,000 to the Lane County Sheriff’s Office to replace its Dispatch Center consoles. The dispatch center is an all-day, every-day operation that provides critical emergency communications services to deputies across Lane County. While the facility is technologically current, the personnel workstations are functionally obsolete. These funds will provide for the first upgrade of the workstations in more than 15 years.
• $1.5 million for equipment and facilities related to the county’s work to develop a behavioral health crisis stabilization center. This funding will be combined with an additional $7M that the County Commissioners has dedicated to this project. It will provide an option for first responders, police agencies, and others when they encounter someone experiencing a behavioral health crisis.
• $1.5 million to help ensure the multi-use facility being considered for the Lane Events Center can be built to “immediate occupancy standard” – meaning the structure would withstand and be immediately occupiable after a Cascadia seismic event. Although Lane County is one of the most populated counties in Oregon, there are few facilities here that can operate as a safe evacuation site for the public after a significant seismic event. This investment would be combined with $7.5 M previously appropriated by the Oregon Legislature for this project. If commissioners do not decide to move ahead with the facility the funding will be returned.
