For several years now, county commissioners from Tippecanoe County, Indiana, have been trying to find indoor storage for the Tippecanoe County Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) vehicles. Currently, TEMA has more than $5 million worth of emergency equipment stored in five different locations, several of which are outdoors. Now two members of the Tippecanoe County Council have proposed using a 4-H Fairgrounds barn as a storage location. But County Commissioner David Byers told the Lafayette Journal & Courier that commissioners are considering several possibilities.
One option is the building that is currently being used by the U.S. Army Reserve Center, at 1301 South St. The Army Reserve Center is moving. The building is owned by the Lafayette School Corporation. TEMA's director, Mark Kirby, has sent a letter to the Lafayette School Corporation asking about the possibility of leasing the building for TEMA's storage needs. The Reserve Center, in addition to having plenty of room for storage, also has office space and could serve as a new headquarters for TEMA. But the school district may have its own plans for the building, which is also being eyed by the Tippecanoe County Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Although Tippecanoe County Council members John Basham and Kathy Vernon like the idea of using the 4-H Fairgrounds Barn, Byers said that building, which is an old sheep barn, was not ideal. He felt that the barn's brick floors would be a problem and that the aisles did not provide enough room for maneuvering emergency equipment.
"The Sheep Barn was just an alternative for the equipment that's sitting out all the time," Basham told the Lafayette Journal & Courier in early April. "That's all it was about, getting the equipment out of the elements."
County resident Dan Altepeter told the county council earlier this week that they had better find some form of indoor storage quickly. "The worst season for emergency equipment to be stored is upon us," Altepeter remarked, referring to summer and the potential for rainstorms.
Tippecanoe County has been building its stockpile of emergency equipment for several years, using grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Sources used:
Schneider, Dorothy. "County squabbles over storage options for TEMA." Lafayette Journal & Courier. April 14, 2010.
Slider, Curt. "Reserve center eyed for TEMA storage." Lafayette Journal & Courier. April 7, 2010.
Stevens, John. "Tippecanoe County, IN officials hope to lease storage for emergency vehicles." Extra Space Storage Industry News. Jan. 5, 2010.
"TEMA storage not priority for tax dollars." Lafayette Journal & Courier. April 10, 2010.