MORGANTON, NC — Plans for a consolidated 911 facility in Burke County are moving forward as the inter-government project earned a $7,280,630 grant from the North Carolina 911 Board.But the money isn’t the biggest gain for the county, said Morganton Department of Public Safety Maj. Ronnie Rector. The biggest gain will be one communication facility for the county and the “seamless” service it would provide.“It’s going to allow for a more consistent service to our customers and also to our officers,” Rector said.

That means no more dropped or lost calls and no more transfers, Rector said. If someone calls 911, he or she stay with the same dispatcher throughout the call.

Currently there are four public safety answering points (PSAP) in the county with a fifth mobile command unit in Burke, Rector said.

“To take this technology that exists in four separate locations and move that into one new facility is close to a $9 million project,” Rector said.

The Burke County Homeland Security Task Force, which prepared the grant application, projected the consolidated PSAP’s cost at $8,480,630.

The facility will be located on Kirksey Drive, on property currently owned by the City of Morganton.

Burke County Manager Bryan Steen said the grant will help with that cost, and the cost for equipment would likely be paid with county 911 funds, which are authorized through the 911 surcharge on phones.

The grant would be applied toward construction of the building and making it operational, Steen said.

The 911 funds must meet specific criteria before it’s spent, Steen said.

Rector said the task force has been working on the project for about two years.

And it could take another two years before the facility is up and running, Steen said. Once the facility is completed, the county would assume management of it.

Steen said the next steps are to work with Morganton and Valdese on an inter-local agreement to formalize the relationship, to do a land transfer and acquire a project consultant and architect or engineering services.

Read the story here.

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