The Lee County Public Safety Center, formerly Lee Emergency Operations Center, has been improved and expanded and reopened this week after a year and a half of work.
The enlarged Public Safety Center now features a second building attached to the existing Emergency Operations Center building.
The expanded facility has been in the works for a while, with Lee Commissioners awarding the contract to expand the Emergency Operations Center in September 2023. Betsy Clayton, communications director for Lee County government, said the plan goes back even further.
“This was all in the works before Ian,” she said. “The catalyst would be that the county is growing, and to prepare for growth and to be able to respond.”
Before the expansion, the building held only emergency management staff. Only 10 employees were at the center during “blue sky,” or non-emergency, days.
That number has increased to 70, with public safety administration, emergency medical services (EMS), and communications staff moving into the new Public Safety Center. On “gray sky” days, where the county is in a declared state of emergency, up to 250 employees can be accommodated.
Emergency telecommunicators, like 911 operators, are each given a work station with five computer monitors and an elevating desk. Lights in the telecommunications room brighten and dim to align with the human circadian rhythm, the system that regulates sleep-wake cycles.
Ben Abes, Lee County’s public safety director, says the increased staff and diversity of branches present at the new center will make operations much more efficient, even outside of hurricane season.
“Whether it's a traffic crash, a large fire, whatever's going on in the community, they have the ability to just work with people in the room, versus making a phone call or calling over the radio,” Abes said.
The Emergency Operations Center was activated — brought to full operation to respond to a declared state of emergency — during hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton in 2024. With hurricane season starting Sunday, improved amenities further accommodate employees in and out of activation.
This includes a “safe room,” where stressed employees can take a moment to calm down, 20 new showers and a larger kitchen.
Chief of Emergency Communications Casey Allo is excited to move his team out of an outdated facility.
“And now in this new building, we'll have the space, the chairs, the sleeping quarters, the refrigerator space, all the amenities that are needed for somebody to kiss their loved ones goodbye and go into work for three days to a week to support the community,” Allo said.
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