Pocono News Section

New 9-1-1 Center Coming to Wayne County

New 9-1-1 Center Coming to Wayne County - Friday, May 22, 2009 at 6:25PM EST

BERLIN TWP., WAYNE COUNTY- Work is now underway on a brand new public safety center in Wayne County. It's being built on Volunteer Drive, just off of Route 652 in Berlin Township. Eyewitness News was there as ground was broken for the project Friday morning.
Heavy machinery is already working to build a brand new public safety center in Wayne County. It will house 9-1-1 dispatchers and EMA officials. Incoming EMA Coordinator Steven Price said, “It’s a monumental day. Our center is going to be built and we're gonna have a place to call home."

Price says the new facility will have state of the art equipment. “It’s gonna help us a lot better, be able to coordinate emergencies. We can do anything that's needed right now, but this is gonna help us with our planning," he said.

County leaders celebrated the project Friday with a ceremonial groundbreaking. Wayne County 9-1-1 Coordinator Marty Hedgelon said, “I've been with the county for 31 years in 911 and this is something I've been waiting for for 31 years. This will be a big plus for Wayne County and all the residents."

The 9-1-1 center in Wayne County has seen its share of problems in the past. Three years back flooding took its toll. “We went through three floods over a couple year period. We had to cut all equipment, haul all the equipment up to another floor. We had to re-route 9-1-1 calls," said Hedgelon.

The new facility is expected to cost just over two million dollars. A majority of that money is coming from gambling revenue. Commissioners say the new center is needed because of the size and growing population of Wayne County.

Commissioner Wendell Kay said, “It’s probably 80 miles from north to south and there's all sorts of needs that encompass those areas and we need to have a centralized area that can address all those needs."

Commissioner Brian W. Smith added, “People don't really realize how important emergency service is until mom/dad or a child is laying on the floor, needing an ambulance or your house is on fire and that's traumatic."

If all goes according to plan, construction on the new facility should be finished by the end of the year. That means it would be up and running in early 2010.