Borough Emergency Management office reconfigured

In just the last year, the Kenai Peninsula has been plagued by torrential rains and flooding, a 7.1 earthquake, and to top it all off, a wildfire stopping traffic and causing evacuation warnings to be given.
    Needless to say, it’s been a busy time at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management, and as a result, there’ll be changes in the staff there.
    Borough Assembly Vice-President Hal Smalley introduced a resolution from the mayor’s office creating a new position, that of program manager for operations.
    “Over the summer we had a number of different events happening borough-wide. We had some fires on this end, we had fires in the southern end, we had city water supplies going short. We had flooding down in the Seward area, we had the OEM department spread very, very thin,” Smalley said. “It wasn't really able to keep up with the leadership that's needed at all these different facilities and this is a position that will help alleviate some of that.”
    Smalley explained that the new position will not mean a bigger budget for the department.
    “It will not be additional cost in the budget because they're using available funds from the OEM department. This individual will serve as the acting OEM manager on-site if the OEM manager happens to be absent,” he said. “And this person will also be able to travel around and help share some of the leadership responsibilities.”
    The new Program Manager-Operations will be responsible for managing the borough’s emergency programs, including exercises, planning and response, and will be responsible for the OEM’s technology suite.