Improvements need to be made in the county’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) so that the county will be better prepared to respond to a future catastrophic event. That was the assessment of some EOC officials who met Tuesday to review the county’s response to snowstorms earlier this month. Several weaknesses were identified by emergency personnel who manned the EOC over a three-day period. They included the lack of advance planning and available supplies to not having enough volunteers to open shelters earlier. EOC personnel said they were scrambling to develop a plan for dealing with the storm that was initially forecasted to dump up to 2 feet of snow. The purpose of Tuesday’s debriefing was to identify areas that needed improvement and clear up any confusion over the procedures that arose during the period the EOC was open Jan. 31-Feb. 2. An initial meeting was held last Thursday between the various emergency responder agencies that manned the EOC. A report was later generated that was presented to the county commission. Everyone at Tuesday’s meeting, including Warrenton Fire Chief Mike Owenby, Sheriff Kevin Harrison, Warren county Ambulance District Administrator Ralph Hellebusch, agreed the EOC activation served as a real training exercise. Fortunately, no major incidents were reported and the worst of the weather bypassed the county as only about a foot of snow fell. Two warming stations that were eventually opened once enough volunteers became available had minimal use. “It’s a good thing it happened,” Hellebusch remarked. “It showed some weaknesses.” Some of the problems encountered by EOC personnel included phone lines that wouldn’t allow long-distance calls to be made, the lack of resources and media contact lists readily available, and having no access to the newly implemented Delta Alert emergency notification system. Agency heads also were confused as to who was paying for the resources, such as food. In addition, emergency personnel were critical of Warren County Emergency Management Director Mike Daniels, who is in charge of emergency preparedness. In a report presented to the county commission, it was noted that it appeared no advance planning had been conducted and that no plan was in place for a snowstorm scenario. Daniels, at Tuesday’s meeting, described the initial procedures to activate the EOC as “chaotic” and “ugly” as emergency personnel from multiple agencies within the county gathered to prepare. However, he commented that once everything was set up “everything ran smoothly.” Harrison said personnel spent the first 1 1/2 days “spinning our wheels and getting organized.” Preparations for this month’s snowstorm began when emergency personnel first gathered Sunday evening and reconvened the following morning. By Monday afternoon, the EOC had been activated at Warrenton Fire House No. 2 as a blizzard warning was issued for the county from 6 a.m. Feb. 1 until noon Feb. 2. The warning was lifted early as the EOC shut down early in the afternoon of Feb. 2. At Tuesday’s meeting, many of the questions raised at the first debriefing were answered. Commissioners said accounts are set up at Kroger’s and Moser’s to purchase food. The Delta Alert system could have been available, but not all the phone numbers had been entered into the system. Ruth Walters, Warren County Health Department administrator, said all her staff has since been able to catch up with the high response from county residents who opted to submit their phone numbers for the notification system. Presiding Commissioner Arden Engelage questioned why more wasn’t done to follow the county’s emergency operations plan. He said the plan, created in 2004 and revised in 2005, included many of the phone numbers needed in case of emergency situations. At the same time, he also acknowledged that the plan should have been updated more and stated it needs to be done at least once a year. “You had no better training than what you went through,” Engelage told those in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting. “We know where the glitches are and what we need to fix.” Harrison said he didn’t recall having a copy or being part of past discussions when the county’s emergency plan was adopted. Daniels indicated he has a revised plan completed, but adoption will likely be delayed as more input is sought from the fire, medical and law enforcement agencies. When the EOC went live, it was discovered that the phone lines would not allow long-distance calls to be made. Daniels said that Dave Sinclair, deceased owner of St. Louis-area Ford dealerships, had been paying for the EOC phone lines, but that was apparently changed last year following his death. At Tuesday’s meeting, it was unclear who has been paying the bill since the EOC phone lines remain active. Long-distances phone calls could eventually be made once the situation was fixed by a CenturyLink technician. Some of the complaints are expected to be resolved once the county’s new administration building opens, scheduled for February 2012. The new county facility will house the EOC in the bottom floor providing a large space to serve as the command center and located across the hallway from the health department should their assistance be needed. One of the main benefits of the new location is having a place to store supplies that would be needed should the EOC be activated and wouldn’t involve transporting the materials from another location according to Engelage. With construction under way on the county building, Hellebusch noted that now is the time to make sure computers, telephones and other logistical equipment will be compatible and be able to operate once the EOC is relocated. While the debriefing focused on many of the areas that needed improvement, EOC personnel noted that the recent activation highlighted a few positives. Some of those include the willingness of agency leaders to commit themselves to the EOC responsibilities and the ability to work together. “We pointed out what we’re going to work on and we’re going to fix it,” Owenby said.