ASHLAND – Ashland County Commissioners are preparing to spend an additional $315,727 to upgrade the county’s 911 dispatch center.
That figure is in addition to the $444,648 commissioners previously approved for software and hardware from Zuercher Technologies.
The additional money will cover new IP radios and voice recorders as well as new furniture and carpet tile for the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office communications center.
Commissioners heard from Sheriff E. Wayne Risner and others from Risner’s office, who outlined estimates from various contractors and made recommendations for the purchases.
The Sheriff is recommending a Mansfield-based company, Vasu Communications, for the radios, voice recorders and furniture.
The same company provided and installed the center’s current equipment 20 years ago, Risner said.
“They’ve been very good to us and we look at them as a local vendor too,” Risner said. “The bottom line is they’ve been good to us with their service and their response, and their product has been good too.”
Vasu provided the lowest estimates for the radios and voice recorders, beating one other vendor for the radios and two other vendors for the recorders.
Though Vasu’s quote came in $5,000 over the lowest bidder for furniture package, Risner said Vasu’s quote includes removal of the old furniture while the other companies’ quotes do not. If another company was selected for the furniture, the county would still have to hire Vasu to remove the old furniture.
The sheriff’s office also expects a smoother process if the county can with a single vendor.
The sheriff is recommending Barefoot Floors of Ashland as the carpet vendor, as the company was the lowest of three bidders.
Risner said Zuercher Technologies is working on the county’s software system now and should have the project complete by the end of May. Vasu’s portion of the project could be done as early as the end of March.
County commissioners president Jim Justice said now that completion of the 911 dispatch upgrade is in sight, the commissioners plan to move forward with a proposal to the City of Ashland for rejoining the county’s dispatch center.
City officials have expressed interest in leaving the Wooster-Ashland Regional Council of Governments to rejoin the county’s dispatch center, but talks have slowed in recent months.
