With an official groundbreaking on Tuesday, May 20, the dedicated dispatchers of Union County E-911 moved another step closer to realizing their dream of a new facility designed specifically for their needs, located conveniently next to Fire Station No. 1 on Shoe Factory Road.
“One of the very first things (Commissioner Harold Collins) came into the office and said was, ‘We’re going to go ahead with the 911 Center,’” said 911 Director and Fire Chief David Dyer, explaining that, after years of planning, the concept was finalized at the beginning of this year.
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Commissioner Collins attended the groundbreaking to see the start of the project, divulging that he greenlit the new center because he had serious concerns about the facility currently housing dispatchers: the decades-old, repurposed Nursing Home building on Hunt-Martin Street.
“They had been desperately needing one for a long time,” noted Collins, describing the impetus behind the decision. “The county’s growing – we did need a new center … It’ll be a lot better working environment for the employees.”
At any given time, there are three dispatchers working at a job that must run like clockwork to answer emergency calls and/or administrative calls, so having an adequate environment is crucial.
Dispatchers have always done a stellar job where they are now, but the call volume is only expected to increase as the local population and infrastructure grow, so the new center is a way to prepare for progress in addition to providing a more suitable workspace.
That’s why the center is being built to accommodate growth, with the ability to add a fourth dispatcher on “active duty,” upgraded technology, better equipment and more room.
Measuring in at 3,171 square feet, the 911 Center will serve as a ground-level floor with a public-access top level spread out across 4,000 square feet. The second floor will house the 911 Mapping Office, secure records storage and extra space for future needs.
Right now, the department is seeking one more hire to be fully staffed. And when the center opens next year, there might be a need for even more dispatchers due to the anticipated rise in calls, so Dyer said there will be an evaluation before move-in to gauge dispatching capacity.
For perspective, dispatchers fielded 51,752 calls from January to December of 2024, with about 13,539 of those calls coming into 911.
“Depending on the new technology that comes along and how busy we get, I’d say within the next couple of years, we really need to be serious about trying to get more staff,” Dyer said.
Construction is being handled by Winkler & Winkler and is expected to take about nine or 10 months depending on the weather. Chad Winkler revealed that the process will be divided into phases, but the center itself will be continuously built.
“About 90% of the people that we have working on the job are from Union County,” noted Winkler, proud to keep the team as local as possible.
The contract for construction is $3.8 million and will be covered by SPLOST funds. All new 911 equipment – computers, phones, servers, etc. – will be going into the center, though it’s still too early to provide cost estimates.
“I am super excited,” said 911 Lt. Millie Baxter, who has worked in local dispatch for nearly 30 years. She and fellow Dispatcher Amanda Hammond posed with proud smiles at the groundbreaking, holding golden shovels to mark the beginning of a new era for Union County’s unseen heroes.
