Equipment For Ky. 911 Center Could Prove Expensive

Dec. 01--Manufacturers are no longer making parts for crucial equipment at the 911 Dispatch Center and local officials suspect the fix might prove expensive.

During a recent meeting of city and county government officials, Police Chief John Reed and Fire Chief Danny Froehlich were at a loss when asked to estimate how much it would cost to replace the equipment. "That's a question we're probably not going to be able to answer because we don't know what our needs are going to be," Reed said.

"It's really hard to tell until they decide how many towers we're going to need," said Froehlich.

Reed pointed out Bowling Green is paying about $7 million for its new county-wide system, which incudes a number of transmission towers in the hilly country thereabouts, and Owensboro is looking at a $1.6 million price tag, but that system does not include CAD, also known as computer-aided dispatch. Reed estimated CAD alone here would cost $200,000 to $500,000.

The need is crucial, the two chiefs said, because current radio communications are hampered by "certain dead pockets in town," Reed said.

"We're looking at a lot of really big systems in cities that are at least twice the size of ours," said Mayor Steve Austin. "The state is really pushing regional systems. And when they do have money it's going to be going to regional systems."

Judge-executive Hugh McCormick, however, was cautious about the idea of a regional system, in which the Henderson 911 Center would partner with other counties.

"We need to keep it as efficient as we possibly can," he said, noting that 911 dispatchers have stressful and complicated jobs. "I'd hate to be the one sitting there taking the calls" because would be enormously complicated in a regional system.

There are many uncertainties with the technology scene rapidly changing, and one idea kicked about is possibly leasing equipment instead of buying it. Currently, local officials essentially are in the position of not knowing what they don't know.

That led City Manager Russell Sights to advocate a course that he generally avoids: Hiring a consultant. "We don't have this capability," he said. "The cost of this consultant is going to be a small percentage of the cost of the system. And we can't afford to make mistakes."

The committee agreed to consult with an expert so it will have some basis on which to draft a request for proposals (RFP) to map out a new system.

"I don't think we know enough right now to know what to put in an RFP," said Assistant City Manager William "Buzzy" Newman.

Copyright 2013 - The Gleaner, Henderson, Ky.