Document text
L/RAIN Temp: 46 °F Wind: W at 8 mph Monday, April 21, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend April 8, 2003 Proposal would move City Hall departments With a service population of over 100,000, the emergency dispatch center is overcrowded and unsafe, police say By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune A City Hall shuffle could replace Medford’s plans for a new emergency dispatch center. At Thursday’s Medford City Council noon study session, leaders of the Police and Parks and Recreation departments will present a proposal to help solve what officials call a safety and crowding issue as well as a financial one. The city was planning to build a new building for Medford’s Central Communication, or CCOM, the emergency dispatch center, but the architect’s $1.8 million proposal was nearly twice what the city had planned to spend. Police say CCOM is housed in a space that is too small, in a building that is estimated to stand in an earthquake only long enough to evacuate, but would not be safe enough to continue running the dispatch center from it. Under the proposal, Parks and Recreation would move out of the Lausmann Annex and into the second floor of the main building, to a vacant space formerly occupied by the municipal court. CCOM would move into the Parks Department location in the annex, and after remodeling at the Santo Community Center, estimated to take a year, the parks department would move to the Santo Center, 701 N. Columbus Ave. The moves would cost $750,000 in all — $400,000 to remodel the Santo Center space, $300,000 to move CCOM and $50,000 for the temporary Parks Department move to City Hall. Medford Police Chief Eric Mellgren said with a service population of over 100,000, including Medford, Ashland and Central Point, the emergency dispatch center is overcrowded. "They’re working in something under 500 square feet," he said, adding that sometimes staff has to stand because there’s not enough room with equipment like the switchboard and computer terminals for the 25 rotating staff members to sit. With Ashland dispatch recently coming aboard, they’re squeezed tight, he said. The Parks Department’s 3,100 square feet would get CCOM through the next 10 years, depending on area growth, he said. City officials said they had to change their course when their hopes for a new CCOM building were discouraged. "We had $1 million earmarked for that component of police facilities," said Deputy City Manager Jef Faw. "The price tag came in at $1.8 million. ... (That’s) way in excess of what we feel we can afford at this time." Parks and Recreation Department Director Scott Archer said he’d rather not have to move the department two times but understands that CCOM must do something soon. "It’s for the greater good," he said. Archer said that while there’s an added inconvenience for parks staff of having to travel to City Hall for meetings, the move to the Santo Center would make the Parks Department easier to find and more customer friendly. "Having your own space and identity can be a good thing," he said. Faw said even though it’s disruptive, he supports the move. "We could have CCOM in an appropriately sized, seismically stable facility by Labor Day," he said. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] . Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S