Pulaski County emergency management reports sharp drop in outages, court approves AquaEye purchase

Pulaski County emergency management told the fiscal court on a special-call morning that power outages caused by the recent storm have fallen substantially and that volunteers and partner agencies have sustained county response operations. The court approved a $13,080 purchase order so the county can acquire an AquaEye sonar device under a Kentucky Emergency Management (KYEM) SAR grant.

Chris, the county’s emergency management representative, said outages were "down to 12.6%" after peaking near 40% earlier in the response. He reported roughly 480 volunteer calls handled since the Emergency Operations Center opened, and said 16 people remained sheltered at the Center for Rural Development. "That tells me the message of getting the word out early and personal preparedness works," he said.

On equipment, Chris asked the court to approve a purchase order for $13,080 to buy an AquaEye to search bodies of water for potential drowning victims. "The AquaEye is a handheld sonar device that's used to, search the, search bodies of water for potential drowning victims," he said. The money for the device has already been awarded by KYEM, and the purchase order allows staff to place the order now and be reimbursed when the grant closes.

A motion to approve the purchase order was made by Mr. Strunk and seconded by Mr. Ranshaw; the court voiced assent and the motion passed. Chris also thanked dozens of county volunteers, the American Red Cross, local fire departments, the National Guard, the Lake Cumberland District Health Department staff and county employees who supported sheltering, wellness checks, fuel and medical transport during the outage response.

He told the court that the timing for suspending EOC operations will depend on power-restoration numbers and that he expected to have a clearer timeline later in the day.