Rogers County emergency dispatch site set to open in spring
BY RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer
Sunday, August 05, 2012
8/05/12 at 4:30 AM
CLAREMORE - Work has begun on a $2.2 million Rogers County emergency dispatch center that could open in the spring, county commissioner Mike Helm said.
The 8,546 square-foot facility, to be located at 18930 S. Highway 88, also will house the operations for the county's emergency management team, he said. It will feature Enhanced 911, which displays an emergency caller's number and address if it originates from a landline and the caller's latitude-longitude if dialed from a cellphone.
"Right now, when someone calls 911, it's very likely that call will have to be transferred to another agency," E911 Director Janet Hamilton said. "Once we move into a consolidated center, when, for example, that Chelsea residence makes that 911 call, it will be received at the consolidated center and dispatched from that same center.
"It saves time in receiving that call and making the transfer. It also eliminates the need for the caller having to repeat the same information."
John Williams Sr. and John Williams Jr., of Claremore Land LLC donated the four acres for the site in March.
The E911 Center and new $19 million courthouse, which Helm said is about half completed, are the result of a ballot measure in December 2009, when more than 73 percent of county voters approved an extension of a 0.167 percent sales tax.
Hamilton said the center will have a back-up generator and a staff of eight, with the ability to expand to 12. One room will accommodate either in-house training or conferences, she said.
Precisely which towns and public safety departments the center will dispatch for will be determined sometime after the start of the year, Hamilton said.
"Municipalities themselves will make that decision," she said.
Claremore has voted against participating in the unified center.
Hamilton was hired late last year as director of the E911 center. Hamilton, of Punta Gorda, Fla., had worked for the Charlotte County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office since 1992 and had been its 911 administrator since 2000.
Original Print Headline: E911 center coming soon
Rhett Morgan 918-581-8395
rhett.morgan@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Architectural rendering of the $2.2 million Rogers County Consolidated Dispatch Center. COURTESY / BKL Inc.
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