Representatives of Upper Macungie and South Whitehall townships met in a joint session Feb. 13 to discuss the possibility of acquiring an incident command vehicle, also known as a mobile command center.

Upper Macungie Emergency Management Coordinator Grant Grim and South Whitehall Emergency Management Coordinator Jeff Kelly gave the presentation.

The vehicle would be used when an event occurs that might need on-the-scene action or presence by the local municipality, police or emergency management personnel.

These events could include football games, Dorney Park events, large fires, driving under the influence stops, commercial events or a major calamity such as a hurricane or blizzard.

As the unit is self-contained, personnel would be able to monitor the situation continuously.

Several units were available for inspection that night in the parking lot.

Lower Macungie Township had its trailer available while Lehigh Valley Hospital and the Eastern Pennsylvania Emergency Services had self-driven units.

The members had previously viewed a unit owned by Bensalem Township.

The cost of a vehicle is anticipated to be around $400,000 with a municipal assistance grant from the Department of Community and Economic Development paying up to 75 percent of the cost.

The two municipalities would be responsible for the reminder.

There may be some grant money from Lehigh County as well as corporate funding.

The cost to run the command post is expected to be around $1,700 per year, which would be split by the two townships.

If the grant application is denied, the townships would have to set aside money in their budgets for the next five years.

Upper Macungie has $50,000 available in this year's budget.

The vehicle, which would be housed at the Cetronia Ambulance Corps complex in a new building being constructed, could be equipped with several phone lines, a mast camera to view the scene from a safe viewpoint, weather station and a private room for interviews.

There could be a small kitchen and bathroom, although the current plan is to eliminate the bathroom in lieu of extra storage space. An expandable section is also available.

Cost of the vehicle must be approved by both boards before any action can be taken on purchasing.

A suggestion was made for the boards to meet with personnel from the emergency management team, fire companies and police departments to gather input and recommendations.