WELLSVILLE — The newly formed safety committee for Wellsville Village Council held an informal meeting Thursday afternoon to discuss the feasibility of switching the village’s dispatch services for police and fire from the fire department to the Columbiana County 911 system.  

In attendance at the meeting were safety committee members Aaron Smith, council member; Keith Thorn, council president; council members Cindy Mick and Alana Amato; Police Chief Eddie Wilson; L. Marsha Eisenhart, Wellsville Police Department; Fire Chief Barry Podwel, Wellsville Fire Department; Capt. Ryan Pike, Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office; Jason Hurford, Mobile Radio Communications, who manages the county radio system, and Jake Hudson, Hudson Communications, who manages Wellsville communications systems; Wellsville Mayor Bobby Smith and Wellsville Fiscal Officer Hoi Wah Yu.  

One of the main purposes of the meeting was to try to obtain a comprehensive cost of what the village, police and fire departments would have to pay to make the switch to the county 911 system.  

Just for the service, equipment not included, Pike said it would cost the fire department $4,800 which would be $400 monthly, and the police department $12,000 annually at $1,000 monthly.  

When asked by Thorn why the police department would cost more and if the price difference is based on call volume, Pike said no because it’s impossible to calculate an always changing call volume.  

Eisenhart explained that the higher cost is due to the other services already provided by the sheriff’s office such as entering information like warrants into LEADS and checking LEADS for information, and that they already pay $500 a month for that service, so dispatch services would be an additional $500 a month.  

Initial set up costs, again including radios/equipment, would be $8,500 for the fire department and $7,500 for the police department.  

Having numbers they can work with, Thorn asked Yu to look into any available grants the village could apply for to offset the costs.  

Hurford noted that Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and state fire equipment grants are available.  

Future discussion ensued on the decision to switch to the county 911 system to address other concerns such as several small dead spots in the area where communications can sometimes be an issue.  

Hudson said that wouldn’t change, but if they decided to make the switch, additional equipment such as repeaters could help fix that, and they could ask the state for help with that. 

It was noted that there would be ongoing costs for connectivity for cellular routers.  

When the question was asked if residents would have a seven-digit number to dial if they went with the switch, Hudson said they would simply need to dial 911.  

Pike noted that there were five centers in the county for 911 dispatch: Columbiana, East Liverpool, East Palestine, Salem and the sheriff’s office. Wellsville callers would probably be directed to the East Liverpool dispatch and if not, it takes just a matter of seconds to switch the call to where it needs to go, he said.  

Pike also said that when a 911 dispatcher answers a call, the dispatcher is basically married to that call while help is sent, especially if there is a need to give first aid advice.  

Podwel noted Wellsville cannot do that.  

Pike also noted that 911 dispatch is through the Emergency Management Agency, and county dispatchers have to go through a training course.  

When asked if a call could be handled more quickly through the fire department or through 911 dispatch, Hudson said state law requires a 911 call to be answered within 20 seconds, and it would be a lot slower for the fire department to dispatch.  

It was also noted that dispatchers work together. If one dispatcher is on the phone getting information and giving lifesaving instructions the other dispatcher can be listening and sending help, and that it is quicker for a dispatcher to type information into the computer than it probably would be for the fire department to take down the information and dispatch someone.  

Thorn asked if the 911 dispatch would reach the volunteer firefighters, and Podwel responded saying the call would go to all the volunteers and into their active text system.  

Eisenhart asked if the property tax fails, would it impact 911.  

Pike said it is too early to tell, but the county does not run on property tax, it runs on sales tax.  

Thorn requested the safety committee to meet again to further discuss the information obtained in Thursday’s meeting.  

The Wellsville Safety Committee will meet on Feb. 17 at 5 p.m. in council chambers at Wellsville Village Hall, 1200 Main St. A regular council meeting will follow at 6 p.m.