911 Emergency Calls from East Polk County are once again being answered by operators in the Ducktown Courthouse.

After nearly 7 weeks of temporary assignment at the Benton Justice Center Complex, 911 Operators returned to their newly refurbished dispatch center in Ducktown last Thursday. The formerly dingy, cluttered room now features new floors, a fresh coat of paint, custom-built desks and cabinets, and high-tech wiring designed to bring the facility into the computer age.

Steve Lofty, Chairman of the Polk County 911 Board coordinated the remodeling effort. According to Lofty, everything in the building was “pretty much worn out.”  The electrical system was original to the building and inadequate to handle the many computers and other equipment used at the center.  Lofty said contractors “basically gutted the place,” installing upgraded electric service, new phone wiring and computer networking cables.  Counters and cabinets specifically designed to hold computer equipment now replace old, rusting metal desks. A noisy window air conditioner and furnace that made it difficult for dispatchers to hear callers has been replaced by a quiet, efficient heat pump. A new phone system is in place and a sliding glass window has been installed so dispatchers can answer questions from members of the public visiting the courthouse.

The remodeling project was originally expected to take four or five weeks, but was slowed down by some unfortunate events. Lofty suffered a massive heart attack shortly after the work began on May 25th. And Lee Watkins, who was coordinating the project for the 911 Board passed away suddenly.  Lofty said he and Watkins had each expected to do some of the remodeling. Lofty’s illness and the death of Watkins made it necessary to hire new people to do the work.  Lofty believes his absence from the job site probably added an extra week to the project. “There was a lot of confusion because they didn’t have anyone standing there telling them what to do.”

Though dispatchers have moved back into the building there is still work to be done. Crews have yet to install security cameras around the building. A new keyless security lock entrance system is to be installed on the front door of the courthouse. Plans also call for installing a new emergency generator that will automatically switch on for back-up power in the event of a blackout.  Lofty said it is likely the dispatch center will be closed again for at least a day to accommodate work on the generator system.

Lofty said most callers probably never realized that the Ducktown 911 operators were working from Benton during the construction.  Modern switching equipment makes it possible to easily re-route 911 calls to another location, and computer programs that pinpoint the exact location of each caller make it possible to dispatch assistance from anywhere.  According to Lofty, the only complaint he heard during the construction concerned the high cost of gas for dispatchers who had to drive across the mountain for their temporary assignment.

When all the bills are totaled up, Lofty expects the Ducktown renovation to cost about $55,000, or $10,000 more than his original estimate.  The 911 Board Chairman said some unexpected expenses, including the need for more extensive electrical and phone rewiring, and renovations to a restroom helped drive up the cost. But the total expense is still less than some other options considered by the board.  The project will also help the county avoid future expenses with the advent of “next generation” 911, since the high speed computer cabling that will be required to receive photos, text messages and high-speed data under that system is already in place. The renovations were funded by the 911 system, not the county.

Lofty pointed out that operators in Ducktown are more than just dispatchers.  They serve as court officers and greeters on court days, when the lobby is full of people and the courthouse is very busy.  They answer the phones for several county agencies, as well as 911 calls. “They have all they can handle,” said Lofty. “We wanted to provide them with a quiet, safe, clean environment, so they could do their jobs as efficiently as possible. We think we’ve accomplished that.”

The Ducktown operators appear to agree.  Working her first shift at her shiny new desk, dispatcher Becky Cearley pronounced the facility “way better than what we had!”