Getting a new generator for Marion County’s Civil Defense office is high on the list of priorities for Emergency Management Director Aaron Greer.
Greer spoke with the Board of Supervisors about the need Monday.
“Our offices are supposed to transfer automatically if power goes out, but the generator doesn’t start on its own,” Greer said. “The project will also help 911 when we move their equipment over there. If somebody’s not there to crank up a generator, we won’t have to worry about it. It will start right up. The current switch and generator are really old. Our current generator doesn’t have capability of starting on its own.”
Greer said he has one quote for $24,000 and is working on another.
“A grant would be a 75-25 match,” he said. “I need your approval to continue to seek it. Either way, we’ve got to have one that will start by itself. We will have to oversize it to make it capable of handling the battery backups over there.”
The conversion will also involve swapping from diesel to natural gas, according to Greer.
District 5 Supervisor Calvin Newsom made a motion to support the application, and it was seconded by District 2 Supervisor Terry Broome. The resolution passed unanimously.
The current generator belonged to MEMA and was used when it was installed after Hurricane Katrina.
The Board also heard from Greta Rawls of Open Wings Outreach, who announced that the organization would be hosting a golf ball drop from a helicopter at the facility, which is located at the Marion County BusinessPlex. Last year, the group had more than 900 balls dropped. This year’s event is slated for March 31 with events beginning at noon and the golf ball drop at 3 p.m. Tickets are $5.
The Board also discussed road and water issues with Ruby Green, who asked questions about Health Department regulations.
“We can’t override the state,” Broome told her. “We can’t tell them what to do in this situation.”
Green also had concerns about her road, which it turns out is not a county road, but part of a subdivision.
“We can’t do anything on private land,” Newsome told her.
In other business, the Board:
• Approved sending DUI officers to their annual conference in Biloxi and sending dispatchers to their annual 40-hour classes in Pearl.
• Set a special bid meeting for garbage trucks for April 18.
• Approved sending the constables to Gulfport for their annual certification seminar June 3 to June 9.
• Approved an order to delete junk equipment from the county inventory.
The next regularly scheduled meeting is April 2.
