New agreement will give 911 mobile dispatching capabilities

A new agreement with the State of Indiana and Comcast will grant Putnam County 911 Dispatch the ability to dispatch from anywhere with mobile phone service.

Best of all, it will come at no cost to the county.

On Monday, Dispatch Director Dave Costin presented an agreement with Comcast for the Putnam County Commissioners to sign. The agreement authorizes Comcast to run phone lines into the dispatch center for the installation of a pair of pelican cases, which will allow for the setup of dispatch points from remote locations.

The cases, valued at $9,000 apiece, would not only give authorities a dispatch point if landlines were down, but also in situations where mobile dispatching is beneficial. Costin pointed to the hostage situation in Cloverdale earlier this year as a possibility.

All of this comes to the county with the state paying the cost, not only initial costs, but ongoing costs.

The commissioners approved the proposal unanimously.

In another communications-related decision, the commissioners signed a new three-year contract with MetroNet.

The proposal was first looked over by Espy Services, which has been overseeing utility cost savings for the counties. The three-year contact comes at an estimated savings of $16,000.

Finally, the commissioners also approved a new four-year lease to keep the Putnam County Purdue Extension Office in the basement of the PNC Bank building on Franklin Street.

With leases of one, four and eight years offered, the commissioners discussed the viability of building a courthouse annex in the coming years.

They eventually decided the lease that keeps the Extension Office in place through 2019 was the best option.