On December 15 Redmond City Council approved a new twenty year lease agreement with the United States Forest Service. The agreement includes the development of a 7,000 square foot facility that will support the Forest Service’s efforts to relocate the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center (COIDC), currently in Prineville, to the Redmond Air Center at Redmond Municipal Airport (RDM).
The COIDC provides dispatch support and coordination for all risk incidents for the Oregon Department of Forestry, BLM Prineville District, the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests and the Crooked River National Grassland.
The movement of COIDC from the Prineville Airport to the Redmond Air Center facilities at the Redmond Airport will improve the efficiency and safety of those operations and the ability of agencies to respond to these all risk incidents.
“On behalf of all the agencies, I want to say how excited we are to reach this point of working with the City of Redmond to provide dispatch facilities that will increase our ability to safely respond to all incidents on Central Oregon lands,” said John Allen, Forest Supervisor, Deschutes National Forest.
Since the year 2000, the RDM has financed approximately $5 million for the construction of buildings on airport property for the Forest Service. The ongoing debt service is paid for by a lease with the Federal Government Forest Service. The City has, and continues to have, an interest in strengthening its partnership with the Forest Service.
“The mission of the Forest Service and their role in protecting the Central Oregon region and beyond makes them a partner we want to be aligned with when it comes to Airport development” states Redmond City Manager Keith Witcosky.
