It’s always good to have a backup plan, especially for a facility with as vital of a role as fielding 911 calls.
The Joint Emergency Communications Center — which merges Iowa City and Johnson County emergency services — is working with the University of Iowa police, located in the University Capitol Centre, to use the office as a backup in the future.
If a catastrophe knocks out the dispatch center, the UI office — after being properly equipped — will be able to run everything from the campus location, Johnson County Supervisor Rod Sullivan said.
Dispatch supervisor Nancy Sereduck said the UI agency is the logical choice.
“They are our partners,” she said. “We cover downtown together, we cover sports events together.”
Sereduck also said the choice is relatively cost-effective. Most of the technologies are already at the UI facility, and emergency services won’t need to build another building.
But it will need equipment, periodic tests, and security for that equipment, Sullivan said. He estimated the cost of the plan at “somewhere in the neighborhood” of $400,000.
“I am pleased we are seeing a good spirit of cooperation between Johnson County and the University of Iowa,” Supervisor Terrence Neuzil said. “The bigger question will be how to pay for all of it.”
So far, a portion of this cost has been met by grants applied for by Emergency Management Director Dave Wilson and Andy Rocca, chief of the Iowa City Fire Department. A tax levy funded by the whole county will also provide funding, Sereduck said.
The UI facility provides plenty of room to grow, if needed, and the building is secure, she said.
The location is also good. Sereduck said the site on Clinton Street is better than traveling 30 miles to Linn or Washington County; its proximity to the interstates is also important.
“We believe it is critical to have that backup center in the county so they can be able to go to this office as quickly as possible [in the event of a catastrophe],” said City Councilor Regenia Bailey.
“This is well-located, well-secured, within the county, and [the UI is] already a partner we work with.”
For Bailey, the backup plan isn’t so much a change as something that has been intended for four years. What began as a discussion among the agencies then went to the Johnson County Council of Government. The UI location was considered prime.
“The challenge is that we need to get it equipped,” Bailey said. “That will take a little longer than planned.”
Sereduck said backup for dispatch centers has been mandated since 9/11.
A need for a backup is unlikely, Sullivan said, but officials must plan for it nonetheless.
“I have been through the straight-line winds of 1998 and the flood of 2008,” Sereduck said. “I hope nothing else happens.”