CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — As San Patricio County works to have its new emergency operations center up-and-running by December, the journey to that goal hasn’t been without its complications.
For instance, the back-up generator still hasn't arrived.
"This one has been backlogged for six or eight months,” Krebs said. “We're hoping that it comes in in the early part of 2024 so we can get it in here."
And while Krebs hopes to have his staff moved in sometime early in 2024, sheriff Oscar Rivera says that when it comes to emergencies, his folks will stay over at the county’s law-enforcement center.
"I'm concerned about the size of it,” he said of the 7,300 sq. ft. building. “Are we going to be able to house that many people at that EOC, as opposed to the sheriff’s office?"
Rivera tells 3NEWS his office housed about 160 people during Hurricane Harvey.
The sheriff’s office’s training room previously was used as the county’s EOC, but Krebs said it had become too small and crowded to continue to be used, as well as being in a susceptible part of town.
"We did not want to be there, you know, just because it was still in a floodplain area,” Krebs said. “We wanted to be on high ground -- where we built it."
So, the decision was made to build the new, domed $3.2 million facility at the San Patricio County Fairgrounds. A place that doesn't leave enough room for the sheriff's department.
It includes stairs to a second floor, which is set to house communication equipment and information technology specialists.
"This area here will stay open just like it is this is where we will set up when we have disasters and stuff, where we all need to be communicating with one another," he said.