Orange 911 communication center seeks relocation

For Orange County’s fire and EMS workers, 2011 will go down as a year not soon forgotten, with earthquakes and destructive summer storms among the forces bringing out the best in county rescue crews. Amidst the year’s chaos, a dark 911 communications center in the basement of the Gordon Building served as an epicenter of its own, directing aid to the areas of distress and need. The county’s emergency communications system survived perhaps its most taxing year ever, but according to the department’s director, such reliability may soon be impossible without a relocation of the center.  

At the Dec. 13, 2011 board of supervisors meeting, E911 director Nicola Tidey outlined a proposed relocation plan for the county’s emergency communications center. The current center, she said, is bursting at the seams and might not be able to adequately handle the call load of another severe emergency.  

“The size of the 911 center has literally outgrown its space,” said Tidey. “The furniture doesn’t meet current specifications for the new communications technology, our manuals and emergency operations plans no longer fit; we’ve run out of electrical outlets.”

In her presentation Tidey included a photo of the center’s wiring, a dense jungle of black, grey and blue strands tied together and running in dozens of directions. She said that sometimes surge protectors are plugged into surge protectors and that in the event of escalating emergencies, such as the earthquake and the Lake of the Woods thunderstorm in August, the center doesn’t have the space to add dispatchers.

“While the calls increased exponentially during these times, we were unable to increase staffing,” said Tidey.  “It’s also a poor working environment for my dispatchers. Because the center is in the basement, there are no windows. A poor working environment leads to stress and stress leads to turnover.”

At the December meeting and again during a January capital improvements plan budget work session, Tidey outlined two possible solutions. At the cost of $40,000, Tidey explained the center could be moved across the hall to the emergency operations center, which she said would double the space available. Or, she proposed a long-term solution, a permanent relocation.

“We can meet our needs now or we can build something the department can grow into,” said Tidey.

For the proposed relocation, Tidey said the old airport terminal, land at the Mine Run Fire Department and the basement of the planning and zoning building were considered, but would likely be cost-prohibitive due to a lack of emergency infrastructure at these locations. Building a free standing, independent communications center at the Mine Run Fire Department, or another unspecified location, would likely cost in the range of $3-4 million.

Tidey’s proposal is that the county explore combing a new 911 center with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office on Porter Road, which she estimates would cost approximately $1.2 million.

“This is county-owned property and land, with the infrastructure already in place,” said Tidey.

As the board learned in these meetings, the 911 center is not the only county department currently operating at or beyond full capacity. Sheriff Mark Amos told the board that when the county built the new sheriff’s office in 1990, the department had asked for two stories, but that only one story was built and the existing footers couldn’t hold the addition of another level.

“Basically the building was meant to meet our needs in 1990,” said Lt. Col. Tim Murphy. “Since then, with the county’s population, our staff has grown and we’ve had to squeeze a lot more people in.”

Murphy said that with the proposed addition of a 911 center to the sheriff’s office property, it was his understanding that the sheriff’s office would be able to use some of the new rooms.

“We didn’t initiate this project and hardly have a dog in the fight,” said Murphy. “The sheriff’s office itself wouldn’t realize a whole lot of difference [with the addition], but in the county picture it’s a plus. There would be more assets in one spot, better communication, there would be the loss of that moment or so delay of when a call needs to be rerouted to the sheriff’ office. Basically it would streamline things a little bit better.”

Despite the space limitations, such as one sergeant working in an office that once was a closet, the sheriff’s office doesn’t have a new building anywhere on their CIP plan, which typically looks optimistically five years into the future. The department’s current project requests are overwhelmingly for new vehicles—six and a half a year over the next few years.

“[A new building] is something we need, but not something we would ask for in this economy,” said Murphy. “Our job is largely in the field.”

After hearing the proposals, the board agreed it needed to consider the 911 center relocation and decided to hold a CIP budget work session following the conclusion of the second half of their annual retreat Feb. 11.