After spending 15 years at a cramped location across the street from the Oktibbeha County Sheriff's Department, county emergency management staff welcomed multiple elected officials, Golden Triangle emergency management officials and community members to a grand opening ceremony on Friday.
The move to the facility took over nine months, and will usher in a new era for county emergency responders with complete upgrades for equipment and software tech. County supervisors approved the new facility in January.
"I want to thank everyone that's here," said E-911 Emergency Management Director Shank Phelps. "This is truly a special day for us. It's been a long time coming. We are very appreciative of this. It's been a very long trip. Everyone had to work together on this."
Phelps thanked the county, multiple community groups including Starkville Utilities, Lowe's, 4-County Electric's first responders fund, Wal-Mart, Clark Beverage Group, Vowell's Marketplace, the MSU Extension office and the entire E-911 staff for their continued support and involvement in the transition process.
The county emergency management team handles 911 dispatching in the area, while managing severe weather notifications for county residents. Moving into a new location was a major goal set by Phelps—which he credited to the current board of county supervisors' support.
"The board really helped us out," Phelps said. "They were very receptive of what we asked last year. I cannot thank them enough for their support. This is for the county. It's not about us, we want people to be as safe as they can be."
In the move, the county approved new dispatch equipment, servers and associated office supplies—moving away from dated 2001-era technology.
"We could do everything in our old space that we do now," Phelps said. "Just like any business, you have to upgrade systems. We were due for updated equipment."
Phelps was appointed E-911 leader after spending over 20 years in local law enforcement with SPD and OCSD in 2015. The Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District occupies the building's ground floor, with E-911 staff upstairs at the Main Street location adjacent to City Hall.
The transition went smoothly, Phelps said. The office hosts a large conference center for emergency meetings, various offices and upgraded dispatch facilities.
"It's always good to have updated equipment," Phelps said. "We had outgrown that spot down there. The equipment was dated. Technology changes. We have to keep up because we can't get behind."
For large event weekends like Bulldog Bash and MSU home football games, the center has four dispatchers operating the system. The center handles OCH Regional Medical Center, Starkville Fire, county fire, and all 911 dispatching to the city.
Currently, the city and county are enrolled in the CodeRed emergency notification system. Residents can add their contact information to the registry to be notified of severe weather and other emergencies. To register, visit oktibbehacountyms.org/?q=node/589.