KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — The Kaufman County Commissioners’ Court approved funding for an already approved $3.67 million equipment contract to outfit the county’s new 911 dispatch center and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on Monday morning, March 9, 2015, in a standing-room-only meeting.
KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — The Kaufman County Commissioners’ Court approved funding for an already approved $3.67 million equipment contract to outfit the county’s new 911 dispatch center and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on Monday morning, March 9, 2015, in a standing-room-only meeting.
The funding had been delayed since its first introduction in a January 2015 Commissioners’ Court meeting after the contract for the equipment was approved by the court in December 2014. The commissioners unanimously approved the funding this morning.
The new 911 dispatch center and EOC will be located in the now renovated National Guard Armory building which was conveyed to the county and being used as a training facility and home to the Kaufman County Offices of Emergency Management. The facility underwent a $1.4 million renovation to house the 911 dispatch center and the EOC.
George Williford, a representative of First Southwest, explained several different financing options to the commissioners before they made their decision and ultimately suggested moving forward with a 12-year loan from American National Bank on a 2.25-percent interest rate — which was the original option but on a 2.05-percent interest rate which increased due to delays and changes in the bond market. The new interest rate will increase the total payment of the loan by an approximate amount of $45,000.
The Commissioners’ Court was presented with letters of intent from the cities of Combine, Crandall, Kaufman, Kemp, Mabank, and Terrell as well as letters of support from the Terrell Chamber of Commerce, the Kaufman Chamber of Commerce, the Kaufman County Fire Chiefs and Firefighters Association, and the Kaufman County Crime Stoppers.
The new system will be licensed in the nationwide public safety 700 MHz band and will operate using APCO 25, or Project 25, standards in Phase II TDMA mode, according to Emergency Management Coordinator Steve Howie who also said the system could be live in two to three months.