Wayne County 911 call center to be relocated

By SONIA OWCHARIW

HONESDALE, PA — It was more than an inconvenience that the county’s emergency call center was located in a basement that floods. But in less than three months, the com center will be high and dry.

The center will move to the Dimick Building on Court and 9th Street, after it has been retrofitted to house the modern day emergency center. The Wayne County Commissioners approved a renovation bid at their meeting on Thursday, October 5.

“The renovations will cost $239,640 and construction will start immediately,” said Vicky Lamberton, the chief clerk of the county.

The bid was awarded to Jerry Ganz, Inc., a Scranton-based construction company. Ganz has 90 days to complete the project, according to 911 coordinator Marty Hedgelon.

The three-story brick building, which was restored in 1997, will house the communication center on the first floor. The call center, currently located in the basement annex of the Wayne County Courthouse, was washed out this past June from 38 inches of floodwaters from the overflowing Lackawaxen River. The call center has flooded three times in the past two years.

In addition to the first floor construction, other improvements include electrical upgrades and new wiring to the building, which was constructed in 1869. The basement will also include office space and conference rooms, according to Lamberton.

“We are going to receive state-of-the-art equipment, which will help dispatchers work quicker. It will be an asset to everyone,” Hedgelon said.

The emergency center will receive all new radios, phones and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD).

“The state received millions of dollars in funds and is pushing for wireless compliancy. We are going to update our 911 technology at the communication center,” said Lamberton.

With respect to wireless calls, the dispatch center currently is not able to pinpoint the location of incoming cell phone calls. In the near future, the call center will have the technological capability to locate those calls, Hedgelon said.

With the growth of wireless technology, many states are starting to upgrade their old communications to “wireless compliancy.” According