E911 system expansion underway – Improvements to cost $800K – $1M
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E911 director Chuck Haston says this is an opportune time to initiate the expansion since there is an influx of new funds to finance it.
‘We’re actually using bank financing from local institutions at competitive interest rates,’ Haston said, ‘and the money that we’re going to use to service that debt and pay that down comes from an increase in wireless revenues the state is distributing to us. So all of that extra money that we’re going to get each year will go to pay this debt.’
And it is a substantial project.
‘The building itself will cost $824,000,’ Haston said. ‘Add on top of this any additional equipment, any additional furniture that’s required, we’re looking at somewhere in the $950,000 to $1 million dollar range.’
Haston says the expansion will take some careful planning beyond just the construction, which has been awarded to low bidder Sain Construction out of Manchester.
‘The big challenge in this project is when it’s done,’ Haston said. ‘And that’s how we move the operation over here without interrupting our service. That’s where the logistical planning comes in for us, because we can’t afford to not answer a 911 call.’
Haston says construction is underway, and the construction company is estimating a January or February time frame for completion.
‘We will move one line at a time, so what I’m proposing we do is to move two positions here and have two running in the old building while these are turned on and take it from there.’
The project is being designed by architect Derrick Clemow, of Upland Design Group, the architectural firm that designed the new Centertown School. However, Clemow says this project requires a whole new design strategy due to the nature of the facility and its needs.
‘Essentially this facility is all new,’ Clemow said. ‘When done, even though the two facilities are still connected, the new addition will be a standalone operational center. There is no electrical connection, water connection or structural connection between the two buildings, they just happen to be adjacent to each other.
‘When complete the new facility will offer a degree of protection from storm, attack, intrusion, or whatever, so this facility will run no matter what happens. If you cut off the electricity, if you cut off the gas, no matter what happens, this is going to continue to operate, full steam ahead. Basically if the whole community is in an uproar and things are destroyed, this will still be here.’
E911 Board member and former county commissioner Frank Rice says the project will bring the center into the 21st century.
‘We’re coming out of the stone ages here,’ Rice said. ‘We’re going to get on the cutting edge of technology. This is a historic moment in the progress of E911 in Warren County.’
McMinnville Mayor Royce Davenport says the expansion will take the facility well into the future.
‘We think this will be something that will take care of the E911 center’s needs for many years to come. It’ll give us a much sater operational environment for this facility,’ Davenport said. And that’s what we need in case there is a problem. We don’t necessarily expect domestic terrorism in this area, but we will likely have tornado problems. The current building is not very resistant to high winds or tornado effects, but the new one will be. And that’s why we’re building it.’
E911 Board chairman Mark Gribble says he is impressed with the safety factor the new design will provide.
‘I think this is great,’ Gribble said. ‘It’ll help keep our employees safe during storms. It’ll help keep our equipment safe during storms, and it will be a more secure building. I think the trend is to go as much underground as you can for security and safety, and this design does that.’