CORE3 current site concept. (CORE3)

$10 million from Legislature advances CORE3 training and response center

A planned multi-agency coordination center for emergency response and training in Redmond received over $10 million from the Oregon Legislature this past session, pushing the project closer to its $50 million funding goal.

Dubbed CORE3, the regional center aims to serve as a multi-use training facility for public safety agencies to collaborate and train together. The facility will be located on 300 acres just north of the Redmond Airport and will be equipped with classrooms, fire towers, driving courses, scenario training such as mock storefronts and houses and several other essential training aspects for all emergency response personnel. Yet CORE3 also has a larger purpose: to serve as the region’s and state’s emergency coordination center and be a facility to maintain government continuity in the event of a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake or any other statewide disaster.

“It’s not only critical for central Oregon, it’s critical for the entire state,” state Sen. Anthony Broadman said. “The state and the federal government both consider central Oregon to be the area where we will focus our efforts to recover from the Cascadia event, which we know is coming… So it’s our job to make sure that we are ready when we are called on.”

The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a 600-mile fault off the Pacific Northwest coast where the Juan de Fuca plate is sliding beneath the North American plate. It’s capable of producing a magnitude 9.0+ earthquake and massive tsunami that could devastate coastal communities and severely damage infrastructure across the state.

The over $10 million investment from the Oregon Legislature this year is a critical contribution to the overall cost of the project, which is estimated at $50 million. The Legislature previously invested $9.5 million in 2022, adding to a $500,000 investment from the Oregon State Fire Marshal, and 300 acres of land ($13 million) from the Deschutes County Commission. The total amount of funding secured is about $35 million.

This investment will propel the project out of the preparatory and planning phase and into phase one, which includes beginning the construction of roadways, access points and other infrastructure needs along with potentially beginning to build structures including the emergency coordination center, classrooms and a driving pad, according to Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz, co-vice chair of the project.

“That construction is where we see the first part is,” Krantz said, “To serve a dual purpose where we can have a classroom space but also begin to set up the initial emergency coordination center that we may need sooner than later.”

Krantz said phase two of the project will likely consist of the construction of more practical training areas, such as a fire tower and a mock city block. Krantz believes the use of scenario-based training will make the value of the facility “immeasurable” for law enforcement and other emergency responders. 

“The best practice around law enforcement training, in particular, is scenario-based training, so we can learn in the classroom, but unless you put it into practice, you can make mistakes,” Krantz said. “Having a dedicated facility where we can make those mistakes, learn from them and get better at our response is really immeasurable.”

While CORE3 has already raised $35 million, at least $15 million is still needed for the project to reach completion. Doug Riggs, a contract lobbyist supporting CORE3, believes the continued support from the Legislature has put the project on the right track. 

“I think this investment enables the project to move forward with confidence that the state continues to be invested in the outcome,” Riggs said. “Most legislative funding requests failed this session, so this is an indication of continued statewide support for CORE3… It’s a game-changer.”