911 Dispatch Upgrades Approved

HUNTINGDON (October 28) — The Town of Huntingdon’s public safety departments will soon receive a significant upgrade to their emergency dispatch center, following approval from the Mayor and Council on October 28.

Currently, the Town of Huntingdon, the City of McKenzie, and Carroll County operate their own emergency dispatch centers. All 911 calls are received at the county’s dispatch center, where dispatchers make the initial dispatch to emergency personnel throughout the county. If a call is for Huntingdon or McKenzie, it is forwarded to the appropriate city dispatchers. However, Huntingdon’s dispatch center does not fully integrate with the 911 center, causing the Huntingdon dispatcher to have limited information about the emergency call.

Kristy Meggs, director of the Carroll County Emergency Communications District, stated that the new agreement will allow both county and Huntingdon dispatchers to monitor every aspect of an emergency call, including dispatch and response times, the nature of the call, and the responding units.

In other business, the Council voted to reject the remaining portion of a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) intended to replace a bridge on Williams Street. The remaining funds totaled $187,047. Mayor Chad Edwards explained that the bids for constructing the bridge exceeded the original budget by over $100,000. Consequently, the city would need to provide unbudgeted matching funds to replace the bridge. Edwards suggested that the city install culverts instead, at a cost of $15,000 to $20,000.

The city has slightly increased building permit fees during the first of two readings, with a minimum fee set at $25. This is the first increase since October 2010.

Additionally, the city’s travel allowance for personnel on official business has been updated. Mileage reimbursement for driving a personal vehicle is now set at 70 cents per mile. If a government-owned vehicle is available but an employee chooses to drive his or her own vehicle, the rate will be reduced to 35 cents per mile.

City associates’ meal reimbursements for in-town travel are as follows: Breakfast - $6; Lunch - $8; Dinner - $12. For out-of-town travel, reimbursements are: Breakfast - $12; Lunch - $16; Dinner - $28.

Starting January 1, a flat fee of $3 will be added for credit card payments to the Town of Huntingdon.

Lastly, two streets in the Huntingdon Industrial Park-South, Dale Kelley Drive and Addison Drive, have been added to the city’s street maintenance program.