A special media center, used in times of natural disasters, will continue to be in use, after the County Supervisors approved a new agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric.
Called the “Joint Information Center” or JIC, it is “used to coordinate emergency services communications to the media and the public,” reads a report from the County Office of Emergency Services or EOC.
The new agreement is the second amendment of the original agreement and adds up to 10 years to the pact.
The JIC was established in 1999 inside a County-owned building on Kansas Avenue next to a County maintenance yard.
“The County,” the report said, “issued a Use Permit to PG&E to allow PG&E to place two modular buildings at this location for the JIC.
“The JIC is used to coordinate all incident-related public information activities. It is the central point of contact for all news media at the scene of an incident.”
The facility allows the County, PG&E and other emergency agencies to work together to disseminate public information.
“The goal of the JIC,” the County report said, “is to increase public awareness and increase collaboration and communication between agencies within the County with the goal of improving disaster preparedness and response; to be prepared for any type of disaster that may occur; to communicate information to the public quickly, accurately and effectively during an emergency; and to get the facts to the public in a timely manner before misinformation can spread.”
The agreement dates to January 2009 with a “Media Center Lease,” the report explained. That agreement had provisions for two, 3-year lease extensions that were approved in January 2012 and 2015. It ended at the end of 2017. An amendment to the original lease was approved in 2018 and expired at the end of 2025, the report said.
This second amendment of the lease was backdated to Jan. 1, 2026, and expires at the end of 2030. From there it allows for annual extensions for another five years. But both can also back out of the pact.
“The Parties both have the right to terminate upon 180 days written notice at any time during the term, or any extensions thereof. The Amendment updates and adds select lease provisions to align with current County standards.”
The lease costs nothing to PG&E, but the company continues to own both buildings. PG&E also pays for routine maintenance costs, and the County is only on the hook for minor operating costs for supplies and incidentals, which are budgeted as normal operating costs.
The JIC almost got removed. The site on Kansas Avenue was the first choice for a new, co-located Sheriff’s and CAL FIRE/County Fire dispatch center.
But the decision was made to move the dispatch center and build the new center in Templeton. That new dispatch center handles all CAL FIRE/County Fire dispatching plus the Sheriff’s calls, as well as 9-1-1 calls for both fire and police for several cities in SLO County. Morro Bay police and fire departments are dispatched from the new communications center.
In a related County OES matter, the City of Morro Bay and County OES have renewed an agreement that makes the Morro Bay Community Center available for emergencies.
Morro Bay Fire Chief, Daniel McCrain said in a Jan. 13 report to City Council, “the County of San Luis Obispo is responsible for providing emergency services to protect the safety and welfare of county residents during a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor of the State of California or a local emergency proclaimed by the County Emergency Services Director or the Board of Supervisors or during other times of need and/or emergencies.”
County OES approached the City about using the Community Center as a “disaster shelter.”
“The County,” Chief McCrain said, “will use the facilities to provide shelter for impacted residents of the emergency on an as-needed basis. The County will provide the required staffing, food, transportation, and supplies for displaced individuals requiring use of the shelter.”
He stressed that the Community Center “is not for the purpose of a warming or cooling shelter [for the homeless], only for a temporary shelter in the event of a disaster or local emergency.”
The Community Center has been used for an emergency shelter before.
“The community center was utilized for an emergency evacuation shelter during the 2023 flooding events,” Chief McCrain said, “without support of the County. City staff coordinated staffing of the facility and provided supplies until County OES was able to deliver a supply trailer.
“Having this agreement in place will streamline this process and help ensure adequate liability protection for both parties.”
The Community Center was also set up about 25-years ago as a City Emergency Communications Center, and was the site of several drills the fire department coordinated to train City staffers from various departments — police, fire, harbor, finance, community volunteers and public works — to set up emergency communications and have one central place where disaster response could be coordinated.
When the City completed the new, Harbor Street Firehouse, that function was moved to the new fire station.
In March 1995, when torrential rains caused major flooding in town, the fire department set up an overnight emergency shelter at Morro Bay High School.
And though the school’s new gym was set up to take in about 100 people, no one actually stayed there, and the water had receded by the next morning.
