County moves ahead on emergency operations center
Published 6:00 am Wednesday, July 9, 2025
The stage is finally set for Warren County’s new emergency operations center to be located near the Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport, something the county says will allow Emergency Management to better serve the community as disasters become more prevalent.
“ … When there’s a disaster that happens, all decision making can be made under the same roof, and we’re excited about that,” Judge-Executive Doug Gorman said Tuesday.
The 7,000-square-foot warehouse-style building sits at 2325 Airway Court on a 2.52 acre lot and was purchased in 2012 by KYCORE, LLC. An appraisal sent to the county this spring stated that over 2,800 square-feet of office space was contained in the building, with a 40,000 square-foot yard outside that could be used for storage needs.
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The site was initially purchased by the county in April for $1,940,000, with plans to close on the property sometime in May. Gorman told the Daily News that the county was going “back and forth” with the property owner and things were going well, but the timing didn’t work out.
On Tuesday the purchase was reapproved for $1,946,492.68, since the new fiscal year had already started. The extra $6,492 accounts for closing costs.
Warren County Emergency Management is currently housed within the former jail behind the Warren County Courthouse, a space also home to the Warren County Drug Task Force.
“It’s almost a historic structure,” Gorman said. “(We are) very limited on what we can do, from a meeting space to infrastructure, everything. It’s not conducive.”
When a multi-day weather event caused widespread flooding across the city and county earlier this year, a temporary operations center was set up at the former Charles M. Moore Insurance building, which the county bought in January.
Warren EM head Ronnie Pearson told magistrates in April that the new EOC will allow for better coordination among local, state and federal government when responding to crises.
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“If we have a large-scale emergency (where) we need to fly patients in and out, we’ll be right there at the airport,” Pearson said then. “We want to make sure that we’re prepared for training and education of our responders and our citizens for the next 50 years.”
Three million dollars in grant funding has been secured for the building, which will cover upgrades and renovations to get it ready, and a public storm shelter is eyed for the site as well. The grant will not cover the purchase cost.
Gorman said Tuesday that the county is expected to finally close on the property this week. An invitation for bids for design services was sent out last week as the county prepares to do a “pretty good rehab job” on the site.
“(It) will be early next year that we can start moving those offices there,” Gorman said.
About Jack Dobbs
Jack covers city government for the Daily News. Originally from Simpson County, he attended Western Kentucky University and graduated in 2022 with a degree in journalism.
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