McClure said the township’s dispatchers have “done a tremendous job for many years,” but ultimately the decision was made to join the new dispatch center because of the updated technology it will have.
All software for the center will be in accordance with Ohio’s Next Generation 9-1-1 state requirements that call for dispatch services to be more advanced. That means the public will be able to send digital content to dispatchers like GPS locations, audio and video recordings, pictures and text messages.
“The main issue we looked at when looking at the positives and negatives of joining is that our current phone system, which is Spectrum when it goes down it affects us too,” McClure said. “That was the main reason we felt a tremendous sense of urgency.”
McClure said lines have gone down for minutes at a time in the past, leaving residents with “the potential to make it very difficult to reach dispatchers.”
The new center for the Clark County Sheriff’s Office will now dispatch service for all Clark County township emergency management personnel excluding Green Twp. and Springfield.
Renovations and construction on the 9-1-1 center are slated to be completed in early to mid-November, however, operations at the center will likely not begin until 2021 due to the length of time it will take to install the new equipment.
The center is being built on Home Road and is the former Clark County Department of Job and Family Services Children’s Home. The current 3,800-square-foot facility will be repurposed as an office and training facility while a 3,300-square-foot additional built on to the facility will house the 9-1-1 dispatch operations.
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