The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Choctaw Emergency Management Agency Logistics facility on April 6. Tribal officials, along with project partners, were on hand to celebrate the completion of this building, as well as improvements to a storage building and the 20-year-old Choctaw Fire/Rescue building.

“Since the creation of the Choctaw Emergency Management Agency, it has not had a facility of its own,” said Tribal Chief Cyrus Ben. “Now they have one to store PPEs and other emergency supplies. Housing these supplies and having them on-hand is a challenge we have faced during the pandemic. With this new building we can stock up and be prepared to assist our Tribal community when needed.”

The EMA Logistics facility is 4,312 square feet and has two office spaces for Choctaw Emergency Management Agency staff, two large climate-controlled storage rooms, a heated and secure warehouse with racks for pallet storage of items such as COVID and/or disaster supplies. The facility will also house backup communications and special event communications equipment. An automatic generator to maintain constant non-interrupted service has also been included to ensure backup communications and weather monitoring is never interrupted. The EMA Logistics facility can also serve as a shelter for first responders if needed.

Built with reinforced concrete walls and a roof designed to withstand 220 mph winds, the EMA Logistics facility has ballistic glass windows with a 200 mph rating. The 150kw diesel generator can run up to 72 hours on a full tank.

Other improvements to the Choctaw Fire Department campus include updates to the storage building which houses support equipment, specialty vehicles for fire rescue, a physical fitness area with new specialized physical fitness equipment for first responders, two boats for swift or floodwater rescue, and other fire/rescue equipment. The building has a climate-controlled area for critical equipment storage, restroom, and secure storage area. A new asphalt parking lot ties in the buildings so forklift and large trucks can now easily access all buildings. The new parking lot also provided additional spaces to allow for more parking during weather events, special events, or public education classes. An underground drainage system was installed to cure drainage and standing water issues.

Utilizing CARES Act money received by the Tribe, the $1,603,274 project began in January 2021 and was completed in December 2021. This building is one of 10 facilities built throughout Tribal communities and was part of a bigger $25 million project.