Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The Jefferson County R. J. Bailar Public Library will continue to serve as the county’s point of distribution (POD) site during natural or manmade emergencies, per a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that county officials
recently approved.
The MOU, which the commission approved on Thursday evening, Dec. 1, lists the participants as the commission, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) and the Florida Department of Health in Jefferson County (FDOH-Jefferson).
Paula Carroll, director of the Division of Emergency Management, which is under the JCSO, requested the action, in keeping with the required annual reevaluation of the POD designation.
As Carroll explained it, the county, JCSO and FDOH-Jefferson are responsible for various aspects of the POD site, which is used as the location for the distribution of food, water and other provisions to the public during declared emergencies.
She further noted that based on distribution models and other pertinent documents such as the U.S. Census Data, the county had historically designated the library as the POD site. The designation, however, had to be reevaluated and re-designated annually, she said.
The MOU, she noted, not only designated the library as the POD site, but is also gave its geographic coordinates and provided for the JCSO to staff the location in keeping with the local Comprehensive Emergency Management and POD plans.
The MOU, she said, also provided for the site to serve as the health department’s POD for the distribution of Strategic National Stockpile of medications and/or immunizations in the event of a public health emergency.