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LISBON -- The merger of the 911 call centers could be about four years down the road, according to a study by Mission Critical Partners who presented it to the Columbiana County 911 Emergency Service Committee on Thursday.
Steve Haberman and Brian Melcer of MCP presented the findings of the study they have been conducting on the current system at the quarterly 911 ESC meeting, which was held by video conference on Thursday due to the weather with about a dozen members of the committee present.
The study suggests the county should proceed with the merger of the five county 911 dispatching centers -- currently operated at the county sheriff's office, Columbiana, East Liverpool, East Palestine and Salem. The cost of operating the new joint 911 location would be about $2 million.
Some of the reasons Haberman gave for the need for merging the 911 together includes currently having dispatchers working alone and without supervision or back up when their is an emergency at several of the 911 locations. Some of the dispatchers are expected to answer phones, while assisting people walking up to the window, dispatching the street department and monitoring cameras when someone is in a holding cell. Additionally, it was noted there are difficulties with training, an employee turnover of about 25 percent and some of the departments have trouble making salaries competitive to keep their employees.
Merging the 911 would allow for a supervisor, who could help fill in during emergencies and allow for more employees to be available when the number of dispatchers in the pool gets smaller during vacations or when employees need to be replaced. At the beginning of the meeting, a moment of silence was held for two dispatchers who died since the previous meeting in November -- Rita Lohman, from the sheriff's office, and Andrea Hoffman, an East Liverpool dispatcher.
The merger would reduce the number of 911 calls that have to be transferred after they end up at the wrong call center currently and should reduce response times on those calls.
There are some drawbacks. At this time there is no location that would be suitable to house the 911 call center without expansion or major renovations. Creating a new location would give dispatchers more room to possibly have a kitchen and break room.
The study shows it could take one or two years to develop a plan and the group would meet with an architect to design the space in years two or three. Commissioner Tim Weigle said he is currently working on the county's plans to build about a 23,000 square feet building mostly as additional storage space for county records in Lisbon and it may be considered that there could be 6,000 square feet of that available for a dispatch space.
There were concerns expressed that the plans MCP presented do not include plans for merging the radios of the departments on the same frequencies. Currently there are 13 law enforcement agencies and 14 fire departments and many are on separate frequencies.
Weigle said it may be possible to work with the local company expanding internet with towers in the area about also assisting with the radio situation, which makes some portions of the county difficult for communications.
The committee also continues to monitor the Ohio House Bill 445, which currently calls for a 25 cents charge per cell phone bill, which is not enough to assist the local counties and the state to approve 911 services.
In other matters:
-- Brian Rutledge, deputy director of the Emergency Management Agency, said the upgrade for text-to-911 equipment is scheduled to start being installed in the next few days.
-- Peggy Clark, EMA Director, said they continue to monitor the 988 National Suicide Prevention Hotline, which is scheduled to launch in July and how that will operate in conjunction with 911 dispatchers and first responders needed to get that person help.
-- Clark said she is interested in possibly expanding a program Salem Police have started with someone trained to provide assistance for people going out with police on some calls.
Police Chief J.T. Panezott said it is a program through mental health and recovery and involves one individual, who has earned the respect and trust of police officers on the department, and knows from experience some of the difficulties faced by those involved in addiction to substance abuse. Panezott said he is totally against sending social workers into the field.
-- The next meeting of the 911 ESC is scheduled for May 5.
djohnson@mojonews.com