Cape Girardeau County seeks grant for planned EMA building

Plans for a climate-controlled and secure building to house Cape Girardeau County's emergency management agency (EMA) and consolidate its various equipment in one location moved a step closer Monday as county commissioners agreed to apply for a Delta Regional Authority (DRA) grant.

The county's emergency operations center and offices for EMA director Mark Winkler and his deputy, Sam Herndon V, are currently in the basement of 1 Barton Square in Jackson.

County-owned pieces of equipment are scattered in various locations.

For example, the mass fatality trailer is next to the county coroner's office in Cape Girardeau, while an animal rescue trailer is in an open field in Jackson.

Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy said a DRA grant, if obtained, will help bring the project, which has no publicly-identified overall cost at present, closer to reality.

"(DRA) money can't be used for the building itself but for things such as utility infrastructure and for site work, such as an access lane," said Tracy, who added that several county-owned parcels are under consideration as a location.

Delta Regional Authority is a federal-state partnership whose self-described mission is to improve the quality of life for residents of the Mississippi Delta. DRA serves 252 counties and parishes in Missouri and seven other states.

Shad Burner, originally from rural Stoddard County and former executive with Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, is a member of the Delta Regional Authority Board of Directors. Burner is currently director of federal initiatives for Missouri's Department of Economic Development.

Former Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder of Cape Girardeau is a former alternate federal co-chairman of DRA. Kinder now serves as vice president for government affairs with SoutheastHEALTH.