The city of Santa Clarita’s effort to purchase a new mobile command center for emergency operations got a boost Tuesday with an oversized $1.5 million check from Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth.
The funds are being set aside for the city’s purchase of a specialized mobile command unit that City Council members authorized in March.
“This unit will elevate our emergency response capabilities, fostering improved situational awareness and streamlined communications with other agencies during those critical moments,” Mayor Jason Gibbs said Tuesday from the dais, in accepting the check from Schiavo.
Schiavo said she was proud to be able to deliver much-needed public safety funds to the district and talked about her past experience with the RN Network, where she worked to provide logistics for the company’s traveling nurses who were often sent to disaster areas.
“I know very intimately how important it is to be able to have the folks in command, in charge of a disaster, have a mobile unit, have it on the ground where and when they need it and be able to adjust,” she said.
The mobile command unit would let the city mobilize its emergency operations center during prolonged disasters and better coordinate disaster response and recovery with local emergency services, utility companies, community-based organizations and school districts, according to city officials in a March agenda report.
Schiavo said in an interview Tuesday outside Council Chambers the funds were part of a $20 million allocation she brought home for the 40th Assembly District, which includes most of the Santa Clarita Valley.