Mount Pleasant Town Hall Magazine

41 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.ILoveMountPleasant.com | www.MPTownHall.com MOUNT PLEASANT Town Hall the MEOC’s power and technology. There wasn’t a good method of doing this in the old place,” he said. “Any time there is an event with the potential to impact the town, all departments – Police, Fire, Public Services, Administration – can operate out of one room, which is a better way of doing things,” he added. “It’s much faster when we’re all working together in one room.” Arnold, who works in support services for the Police Department, handling budgeting, training and records, has been doubling as the town’s emergency manager for more than two years. During that time, the MEOC has been up and running twice: before, during and after Hurricane Matthew roared into the Lowcountry in October 2016 and in 2015, when residents from the Charleston area and throughout the South joined hands on the Arthur Ravenel Bridge following the murder of nine members of Emanuel A.M.E. Church in June 2015. “It was open for three or four days for Matthew, then scaled back down,” Arnold said. Arnold pointed out that the town of Mount Pleasant works closely with Charleston County, other nearby municipalities and even with state and federal officials when emergencies arise. For example, MPPD provided support for the city of Charleston in the aftermath of the Emanuel 9 shooting. “Lots of law enforcement agencies were involved. The president, the vice president and congressmen were in Charleston, so the Secret Service and the FBI were here as well. We helped out where we could.” Emergency managers throughout the Lowcountry also met to discuss plans for the Aug. 21, 2017, solar eclipse. Part of the MEOC will be a joint information center so town officials can monitor social media and disseminate information to the general public through Police Department Public Information Officer Chip Googe and the town’s PIO, Martine Wolfe-Miller. “The message sent to the public has to be consistent,” Arnold said. So who decides when the training room needs to be transformed into the MEOC? Arnold said that depending on the nature of the emergency, the police chief or fire chief, in concert with the town administrator, usually makes that decision. And who’s in charge once the Municipal Emergency Operations Center is set up and ready to go? That also depends, Arnold said. “The incident commander will be determined by the event,” he explained. “The police might not take the lead in an emergency. For example, in a hazardous material spill, the Fire Department would be in charge. But ultimately, the town administrator is responsible for the town’s response.” Arnold added that the mayor might be in the room as well, working with the town administrator to address policy issues such as whether a curfew needs to be imposed on Mount Pleasant residents. The MEOC is also open for business when the town holds drills – three or four times a year – practicing for what might happen during specific events such as the Cooper River Bridge Run, the Independence Day celebration, a hurricane making landfall or even an active shooter, such as the incident that claimed 49 lives in an Orlando, Florida, nightclub in 2016. Arnold pointed out that training and preparation are two key aspects of being ready for any emergency that might present itself. Arnold said the town of Mount Pleasant would hire a full-time emergency manager sometime during 2017, and among that person’s responsibilities will be to establish a second location for a Municipal Emergency Operations Center, in case the room on the first floor of the new Town Hall is damaged by violent weather or otherwise becomes unusable. “You have to have contingencies for your contingencies,” he commented. TH Blair Martin, right, and Jennifer Holley were at the Municipal Emergency Operations Center during the Aug. 21, 2017, total eclipse. Photo Brian Sherman. Mark Arnold at Mount Pleasant’s Municipal Emergency Operations Center. Photo Brian Sherman.