Claremore Daily Progress

Top Stories

September 19, 2012

County seeks unity and ideas for 911 Board

Reorganization, budget challenges among issues

Salesha Wilken Staff Reporter

CLAREMORE — Discussions continued Tuesday as the E911 Center Advisory Board is working to bring all of the countywide fire, police and EMS agencies together.

Discussion was not limited to participation in the center, but more importantly the ability to communicate with each agency across the county, according to E911 Director Janet Hamilton.
A proposal submitted by Motorola would include a countywide upgrade to the 800-frequency system through the purchase of approximately 438 new radios. This proposal would be able to equip 11 agencies that previously participated with the project study.
Rogers County currently has 14 fire departments, nine law enforcement agencies and two EMS services.
Some of the agencies currently operate within the 800-frequency capability.
Additionally, the new E911 center would have specialized equipment at the dispatch console to accommodate multiple types of frequencies.
The equipment could be purchased at approximately $3,000 per radio, however, the proposal includes the ability to use the equipment on a fee basis. The agreement would include a quarterly fee of approximately $160,000.
“Is this $800,000 lease even an option considering the county’s current budget situation?” Rogers County Undersheriff John Sappington asked.
“Currently, no this is not an option,” Rogers County County Commissioner Dan DeLozier said.  He said the plan is dependent on the participation of these agencies.
Another option that was presented provided for equipment to be installed at the dispatch level to bring forward compatibility.
Everyone would still have their own system but it would be connected through the center to streamline communications, Hamilton said.
“All we are after is what is best for everybody, if we can’t afford it we will try to find a way to make it work,” said DeLozier.
Both options would help bring every agency up to the 800 system, DeLozier said.
“My goal is to just make sure everyone can talk to each other,” Hamilton said.
“The root issue is still trying to find a solution that will connect all the agencies in Rogers County despite participation in the center,” said DeLozier.
Ultimately, funding issues will play a critical role in the development of the facility and agency participation will be important, according to DeLozier.
“The charge of the 911 center is to take care of the public and that is all we are here to do,” DeLozier said.
He encouraged participants and all area agencies to come together for the discussions to “get the job done.”
“Let’s get the questions in and get this thing put together,” DeLozier said.
“There are some critical dates that are approaching and we need to get things ready to bring before the Board of County Commissioners to meet deadlines,” Hamilton said.
Questions continued as area agencies look for answers on how this center will be able to come together to meet everyone’s needs.
“Let’s look at every option we can come up with,” DeLozier said.
The final suggestion in the meeting, was to modify the proposal from Motorola to simply make the dispatch center talk to everyone, without the purchase of new radios.
Each participant agreed that discussions needed to continue to find a solution.
“All agencies are players in this center even if they do not join,” Rogers County Emergency Management Director Bob Anderson said. “If we have a major disaster this will impact everyone.” 
Meetings will be held next week to help bring the agencies together to participate in the decision making process, even if they are not currently committed to joining the facility.

Text Only
Top Stories