Commissioners call 911 advisory board together

The Nodaway County Commissioners, who are members of the 911 Advisory Board, assembled other agency members December 8 to receive an update of the consolidated emergency 911 dispatch center’s first two months of operation.

The board with representation from the Nodaway County Ambulance District and the City of Maryville heard updates from Jessica Rickabaugh, supervisor of the communication center, and financial information from Maryville City Manager Greg McDanel.

It was noted the need for a president and recording secretary for the board to handle business annually. McDanel will draft an amendment to include the necessary officers. He will present it at the next meeting.

McDanel described the budget plans through September 30 noting the county expenditure of $200,000 and possible contingency monies too for the first year of operation.

Rickabaugh told after 69 days of operation, the staff is getting comfortable with equipment and expanded geography. Training manuals are being updated with equipment information. The telephone company, Centurylink, still has issues to be worked through. She has hired more part time staff to begin January 1. Adequate staffing has been difficult with COVID-19 instances of either quarantine or the virus. She also spoke about meeting with several leaders of the healthcare component of the E911 dispatch.

Nodaway County Sheriff Department’s Captain Scott Wedlock asked about the dashboard implementation to allow deputies to see resources in real time. The sheriff’s department does not have access to historic data that took place before the consolidation. The city police does have that information from their department’s actions. A solution is expected to be coming from the Omnigo software merchant with an estimated price tag of $4,000 to $21,000, presently including jail expenses.

After much discussion involving commissioners and city leaders, it was decided that more study is needed about the proposed costs of both law enforcement departments with the software company. The final financial decision was tabled.