Ross voices support for regional center

Ross Township’s board of supervisors voiced support this week for a new regional operating center in Chestnuthill Township.

The control center will serve as a base for emergency management efforts throughout Ross, Chestnuthill, Eldred, Polk, Jackson and Hamilton townships.

In order to get the project off the ground, each township is being asked to offer a letter of intent to support the effort. Estimates for each township’s contribution for equipment and training expenses were included with the request.

“Our portion was between $3,000 and $4,000. That’s not set in stone, it should be a maximum, but it could be less. This control center would go in the new West End Fire Co. building, which will be built off Route 715, across the street from the old one,” chairman Howard Beers Jr. said.

The 12-seat regional operating center would house the operating managers from each contributing township. During a catastrophic event in one of the townships, that township’s manager would take charge, though assistance would be provided by the other members.

Beers said that the cooperative nature of the center holds the greatest appeal for Ross, as the township would have trouble maintaining a staff of that size on its own.

“The biggest issue that Ross Township would have doing it on its own would be the staffing. I personally think it would be a good idea for us to join in with that, the main reason being the staffing and the help,” he said.

Vice chairman Tina Drake and supervisor David Shay both raised questions about the financial contribution from Ross, specifically as to whether or not the expenditure was a one-time deal or a recurring annual payment, and whether or not the township could leave the group if they choose to do so.

The answers to those questions are expected to be addressed at the next meeting with the involved districts. Beers said that state representatives have been invited to the meeting in order to discuss the project and potential grant funding.