Johnson County communications center goes live

After several years of planning - and in recent months, controversy - Johnson County's joint emergency communications center went live early Tuesday.

The center brings dispatchers under one roof and will eventually provide one radio system for all public safety departments and emergency medical personnel in the county. Iowa City and Johnson County have run separate systems, and communication between the two is difficult and coverage spotty in some areas.

“I've never been able to talk to a Johnson County (Sheriff's) car since I've been here,” Iowa City Police Chief Sam Hargadine said. “And when that's all said and done, we should be able to, just with the press of a button, talk to each other.”

The center became operational at 3 a.m., and dispatchers are moved in and using the new equipment. It's located at 4529 Melrose Ave. in Iowa City, west of Highway 218.

Everything is running smoothly said Hargadine and Tom Jones, the center's interim director.

“I'm glad to see it taking off and up and running,” Jones said. “It's going to be busy for a while.”

The work is not done yet, though. Agencies will transition to the single radio system over the next few months, and it will be early fall before all public safety personnel are linked up.

Still, Tuesday's milestone was important in what has long been hailed as an essential upgrade in public safety and an example of intergovernmental cooperation. The center is governed by a seven-member board with representatives appointed by the county, the county's Emergency Management Agency and the cities of Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty.

“It's kind of a ‘yeehaw,'” Mike Wright, chairman of the center's board and an Iowa City Council member, said of center becoming operational.

“This has been a long time” coming, he said. “It's been at times a pretty rocky path to get to where we're going, but all should be fine.”

In April, the center's director, Mike Sullivan, resigned after being arrested for drunk driving. He died about a month later.

Also, in recent months a majority of the county's Board of Supervisors has complained about how the center was being run and it's funding. A meeting in late-May seemed to resolve some of those differences.

The budget for operating expenses for the fiscal year that starts July 1 is about $2.8 million and is funded by a countywide levy.

The building and the equipment cost about $16 million combined, Jones said.