Today I had the opportunity, along with Mr. Feldman and Chief Film to visit the planned site for a potential regional dispatch center. We were able to meet with some of parties involved, including Summit County Deputy Safety Director for Summit County, Lori Pesci, and Chief of Staff for Summit County Executive, Brian Nelsen with both the consultants and architects that are helping drive the conversation related to governance and design of the center.
First, to dispel any information to the contrary, the overall process for the proposed reginal dispatch is still well underway, but still not at a point to present to the Councils and stakeholders of the individual cities. It was initially a goal of the County to have something to the individual cities by May or June, however, it was stated that was probably an overly aggressive timeline, and that realistically, they are hoping to have something by this fall. To reiterate, neither Stow City Council or the administration is holding up any progress, any information to the contrary is completely false. In fact, the City of Stow and our Council has been one of the most proactive entities reach out to ask additional questions and seek information. The consultants stated today that they used the list of questions I initially compiled last fall as their basis for creating a question log to share with other entities that have similar questions.
I appreciate that Summit County is taking the time to make sure they have the right details and information gathered prior to making a final presentation to the interested cities. They are collecting information through several working groups, including a new operational working group that includes current dispatchers from the various cities. Once all the information is gathered, the County along with the consultants and architect will be able to present the proposed details for the council of governments that would oversee the regional dispatch along with the costs each entity would have to operate a new regional dispatch.
Some important details to note that seem to keep being stated that are incorrect:
- No final details or have been presented to any cities who are wishing to join, and no action has been taken by any of the local city governments to move forward with this proposal
- Final costs related to buy in and operational costs have not been presented to Council
- The formation of a council of governments has not been completed and the details of such have not been finalized
- Stow does NOT have outdated equipment or software—actually, much of our computer equipment and software would be moved and used by a regional center if Stow decides to join
It is clear that a lot of work has gone into this project and I want to thank those who met with us today, answered our questions, and continue to work out the details of this for a presentation to our Council in the future. I look forward to continuing conversations and receiving updates about this project from the parties involved and I will continue to be transparent in the details of the project and that status of our City as it relates to regional dispatch.