Culver Knox Box Program
Since the walk-thru with the Emergency Services Personnel last week, I have made several presentations on a proposed Knox Box program for Culver. Initially I spoke on this topic with the Town Council on Tuesday the 14th. The Fire Chief and the EMS Director were both at that meeting and were charged by the Council to come up with a program. They also asked the Clerk to look into any insurance implications. The Council also agreed with my recommendation that it go before the Plan Commission as a possible addendum to the Zoning Ordinance so that when additional Knox Boxes are installed, they are installed in a uniform fashion. I agreed to carry that suggestion to the Plan Commission, which I did on Tuesday the 21st. They expressed interest as well, though no action was taken to move this forward at this time.
I have also contacted the Culver School System regarding this new program as I think they should consider implementing it. The Culver Union Township Library has also expressed interest. I’m hoping the program will take off! This will bring Culver in line with other area communities.
Culver Garden Court Emergency Services Walk-thru
Tonight we’re going to have a walk-thru at Culver Garden Court for Culver’s Emergency Services personnel. We’ve invited any of the Culver Fire Department, Culver EMTs and Culver Police that would like a tour of the building. As this is housing for the elderly, we feel it is important to familiarize them with the facility. This is something we have done in the past with other Garden Court facilities we have built.
Culver Garden Court has the first Knox Box in Culver. (Wikipedia description here.) A Knox Box is a small safe that is installed at the front door of a building. It will contain a master key to the facility. In case of a 911 call, whether a fire, medical emergency or other, the emergency service personnel arriving at the site will be able to access the key using a key to the Knox Box.
Now that the program has been initiated in Culver, I would anticipate that other Culver facilities will want to install them as well. While the boxes are somewhat expensive, they are generally less expensive than the cost of the door replacement due to the the fire department taking an axe to the door. It is also a life safety issue. Opening the door with a key is the most efficient way to get to a life in jeopardy on the other side. In my opinion the Culver Schools, the Culver Library and the Culver Town Hall should all have Knox Boxes. In the spirit of the one installed at Culver Garden Court, the Culver Cove, Beachside Condos and Beach View Condos should consider them as well. Knox Boxes can also be installed on private homes.
I believe the next step for Culver should be to develop a policy regarding Knox Boxes. There’s a lot of responsibility involved in their use. All the Knox Boxes in a community have a master key. A chain of custody for these keys should be established. A policy should be adopted on how to handle them. (Some communities have controlled access safes in each emergency vehicle to establish accountability and a chain of custody for anyone that accesses the key.) Depending on the type of policy developed, Culver may want to apply for a grant from the Marshall County Community Foundation (MCCF) to implement a program. (Thanks for the suggestion B3!)
I would also like to see a standard set for the location of the boxes. The Knox Box company has a recommendation, but it should be established. It does no good for the box and key to be there if emergency services have to search for it. A second step forward here would be a program that initiates emergency plans for the buildings with Knox Boxes. An emergency services walk-thru for each of these buildings, similar to what we have planned tonight, would help them if they ever had to enter that building in an actual emergency.
I plan to follow up tonight’s meeting with a discussion at the Town Council to get them thinking about implementing this policy. I believe doing this by ordinance would be appropriate, but that would be up to the council to make that determination.
MCEDC Reelection
Despite diligent campaigning on my part, my proposed successors all lost yesterday’s election. I will be Chairman of the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) for another year. I have enjoyed the interaction in the position and feel I have learned a lot, but I had offered to step down. It is not an onerous position, but I often cannot devote the time to it that I think it warrants. My real job often gets in the way of my extracurricular activities! For better or worse, my peers on the board disagreed with my self-assessment.
My involvement in MCEDC serves multiple personal and business goals:
- It is a way to give back to our community. It is truly a need that was neglected before MCEDC’s inception.
- It is a way for me to know what the trends are in Marshall County as well as our region. This helps me give direction to Easterday Construction.
- It is a way to influence the direction of Marshall County. MCEDC has been a force in drawing our communities together and finding common goals that move our county forward. I am proud to have been a part of this.
Regarding other board member updates, Roger Umbaugh was reappointed by Marshall County as their representative. Don Mahoney was reappointed by Argos as their representative and accepted another term as Treasurer. Bill Davis, Bremen’s representative, accepted another term as Vice Chairman.
I’m looking forward to another year of making a difference. As always, suggestions are welcome.
