The Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has announced that Broken Arrow, Okla., has signed a pre-event contract for disaster recovery services after the Oklahoma Municipal Services Corp. (OMSC), the business arm of the Oklahoma Municipal League (OML), began offering this benefit to OML members in August.
“This agreement will be a vital asset if and when an unfortunate event befalls the City of Broken Arrow,” says Craig Thurmond, Broken Arrow mayor. “Emergency management is all about preparing for a disaster and reacting to it, and our agreement with the Institute for Building Technology and Safety will help us be ready on all fronts when the unforeseeable occurs.”
OMSC and IBTS entered into a cooperative purchase agreement, allowing OMSC members to access pre-event contracts for recovery services ahead of a disaster. Under the agreement, members have access to subrecipient agreements, disaster planning and plan activation, initial disaster response, post-disaster services, recovery administration, grant closeout, resilience planning, and other associated shared services. Establishing a relationship with a firm that has already been vetted can accelerate time to recovery.
“The ability to be prepared in case of a natural disaster is vital, and this Master Agreement for Disaster Services with IBTS allows our cities and towns to do just that,” says Mike Fina, executive director of OML. “We think pre-event contracts of this nature are a must-have, especially for smaller communities who may be resource constrained.”
The signed agreement is expected to be the first of many.
“It’s great to see communities like Broken Arrow getting ahead of the odds and putting the contract piece of the puzzle in place before the chaos and confusion of a disaster hits. They know we will be there if and when they need us,” says Blake Ratcliff, director of economic development and disaster recovery at IBTS. “A little proactivity can go a long way when it comes to total impact and speed of recovery.”