By: Jim Erickson
Construction workers at the new Emergency Communications Center were busy putting exterior walls in place on Aug. 14. (West Newsmagazine photo)
With construction well under way, the new Emergency Communications Center, located in Ohlendorf West Park in West County, is expected to be operational early in 2014.
Florissant Police Chief William Karabas, chairman of the St. Louis County Emergency Communications Commission, said the 35,000-square-foot, $16.2 million structure will incorporate the latest technology to facilitate rapid communications between police, fire, public health and other emergency agencies throughout a seven-county bi-state area in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency. Key government offices and facilities such as Lambert-St. Louis International Airport also will be part of the system.
Counties with agencies included in the new communications set-up are St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin in Missouri and Madison, St. Clair and Monroe in Illinois, Karabas said.
Ohlendorf West Park is located on the east side of Hanna Road, south of Big Bend. The general contractor for the project is Orf Construction in Bridgeton.
Karabas said initial work at the site began about three months ago. By mid-August, exterior walls were being erected.
The facility is being built to withstand an F-3 tornado, which includes winds up to 206 miles per hour. According to national weather statistics, some 99 percent of all tornadoes in the United States from 1950-94 were of F-3 intensity or lower.
Funding for the new center comes from a one-tenth of one percent sales tax hike voters approved in 2009.
The Federal Communications Commission originally declared the project had to be completed by the end of this year, but the commission sought and received a deadline extension.
Karabas said a new 911 system to be incorporated in the center will enable emergency personnel to pinpoint the location of callers using cell phones to report an emergency. The new capability will deal with situations in which a caller unfamiliar with the area is unable to provide an address or other specific location information where emergency help is needed.
A request for proposals for the new system is being prepared and will go out as soon as officials believe specifications incorporate the latest technology available, the commission chairman said.
Use of land at Ohlendorf West Park meant the purchase of another site wasn?t necessary. In light of that saving, Karabas noted the commission has given $350,000 to the St. Louis County Parks Department for improvements elsewhere on the park property. Upgrades include new playground equipment and a walking trail.
In St. Louis County, the new emergency system also includes a nearly complete network of some 200 warning sirens. Karabas said testing of the sirens has resulted in adding about 14 new sirens and changing locations of a few others to achieve the desired coverage.
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