A new 911 and Public Safety Center is in the works for Franklin County to better serve police and dispatch throughout the county.
Published reports say the plan comes as a result of a study conducted by the county government. Currently, Franklin County has been working with five centers for public safety, with only two of them able to answer 911 calls. The hope is to merge the centers into one, allowing for better communication for the safety needs of residents and better use of safety officials’ time.
The center will be located in a newly attached portion of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, and will include a 911 Center, an Emergency Operations Center and administrative offices. The 911 portion will include six telephones for telecommunicators, and will feature a walk-up window for residents to come in person to the center and speak with the telecommunicators.
The other portions of the center will allow officials to monitor developing emergencies past the initial 911 calls. Funding for the project has been approved through the American Rescue Plan Act with grant funding from the Department of Economic Development and Opportunity. The entire project is projected to take one to two years to complete.