Centre County is planning to update its 911 street addressing database for the first time in 26 years.
The Board of Commissioners this week approved a $14,000 contract with State College-based company 911 Authority to provide replacement of the database that has been in use since 1999, an update Chair Mark Higgins said will help ensure timeliness and accuracy for first responders.
“Street names are more common than you might think,” Higgins said at the board’s June 10 meeting when the proposal was first presented. “There have been several instances in counties throughout the commonwealth where the fire department before these upgrades would be dispatched to the wrong street… It was the right name and even the right address. It was just in the wrong community.”
The county currently has 79,000 addressable structures and more than 5,600 different road names, according to Norm Spackman, director of emergency communications.
911 Authority will replace the database using Microsoft SQL software. It will add data fields required for Next Generation 911, the IP-based system being launched nationwide to replace legacy analog infrastructure, build new forms, a new user interface and create new reports needed for 911 street addressing, Spackman said.
Work is expected to be completed next spring.
Radio Tower Evaluation
Planning is also underway to add radio communications equipment to a tower to fill a coverage gap in the far eastern end of the county.
Commissioners advanced a $1,950 contract with GPD Group to provide structural analysis to determine if radio equipment can be added to a state-owned tower in Union County. The project ultimately aims to provide improved radio communications in eastern Miles Township.
“I know there’s a very busy church camp out that way and also some state lands, plus a vital connector road,” Higgins said. “We appreciate 911 Emergency Communications working to fill in some of the last gaps in coverage for Centre County.”
County Administrator said the tower is one of three proposed locations for the equipment.
GDP Group will conduct a standard structural analysis to determine if the proposed equipment meets the tower’s load requirements, then will submit a report to the commonwealth and project manager Mission Critical Partners.
