ATHOL — Public safety dispatch functions will remain status quo until Sept. 1, when dispatchers at the Athol Police Department will assume emergency medical dispatch duties in accordance with a Feb. 21 vote of the town’s selectmen.
The board had voted unanimously to start the consolidation of public safety dispatching and on Tuesday opted to send a letter to the state 911 department to offer specific terms regarding the planned transition. Medical dispatching is handled at the Athol Fire Department. According to Athol Town Manager Shaun Suhoski, the town can now initiate collective bargaining with applicable employee unions and formalize dates for training and any administrative duties.
The letter states all public safety dispatchers will receive emergency medical dispatch training in July and August. It also states the Athol Police Department will have “Next Generation 911” (NG911) work stations, with necessary equipment. According to 911.gov, NG911 is a system that allows people to send calls, texts, videos and photos to emergency responders via the 911 network.
According to Suhoski’s report, he and a group of elected officials and public safety employees met with Monna Wallace of the state 911 Department to discuss the steps necessary to implement central dispatch at the police station. Suhoski said this meeting was productive and he learned the timing of EMD dispatching would complement the 911 Department’s rolling out of NG911, which it plans to do on Sept. 14.
Suhoski said the NG911 includes upgrading two video monitors from 17-inch to 24-inch screens (one for 911 and one for mapping locations) and accompanying equipment.
The selectmen also voted on Feb. 21 to set in motion the procedure to withdraw from an intermunicipal agreement to regionalize its dispatch services with Gardner and give the required 18 months’ notice to terminate the plan. At a special town meeting on Feb. 6, residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of an article aimed at dismantling the agreement. That vote, however, was nonbinding.
The proposal was to consolidate Athol police and fire dispatch with that of Gardner and operate in a regional emergency communication center in the new Gardner police station. The agreement got Selectmen’s approval on March 3, 2015, and was signed seven days later.
You can reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 258.