Brevard County is finally getting a new, state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center after overcoming a longtime hurdle -- Gov. Rick Scott.

  • Funding approved for new EOC facility
  • Governor vetoed funding in the past
  • Visit opened Gov.'s eyes to state of facility

The governor had vetoed funding in the past, despite the Brevard delegation's repeated Tallahassee trips with requests.

After a pre-Hurricane Matthew trip to the Brevard Emergency Operations Center last Fall, Governor Rick Scott saw for himself a building that local officials feel is far from what it needs to be.

"He saw the condition it's in, packed full of people, undersized," says EOC Director Kimberly Prosser. "We have been trying for quite a while to obtain funding for a new facility."

During Matthew, the power went out and there were plumbing problems.

But Prosser believes his visit to the EOC changed his mind.

Now $14 million has been approved to build a new one on a wooded lot next to the current operations center.

For Brevard residents like Terry Friday, who has been through several hurricanes including, 2004's Charley, Frances and Jeanne, having a new facility means prepared emergency personnel.

"They need to have all of that to be at the top of their game to keep everybody else safe," said Friday.

The Brevard EOC is the most activated one in the state due to storms and the number of rocket launches on the Space Coast.

Officials are still working on a timetable for the construction to begin.