COLUMBUS - After many years of discussion, a joint dispatch center between the City of Columbus and Platte County is nearly a reality.

Last summer, the two parties entered into an inter-local cooperation agreement to unify the dispatch centers of the Platte County Sheriff's Department, and the Columbus Police and Fire Departments under one roof. Earlier this year construction began on the new center, which will be housed in the FAA building at Columbus Municipal Airport.

As part of the process of starting the new venture, a Joint Communications Center Committee was created earlier this year to make decisions on various aspects of the project. Communications Director Pam Sybrant says that the committee has been working on a number of different things over the past few months to get ready for the opening of the center.

"We've been working on everything from policies, bringing on the county dispatchers into the City's pay plan, their benefit packages, all of that," Sybrant said. "There's just a lot to do with the technology part of moving everything from both dispatch centers into a new facility."

Sybrant says that major construction on the center is expected to be completed by mid-July, and that the first day of operation is slated for the first week of August. There are still some challenges to be faced however, as Sybrant says the City's fiber project is something that the center needs to operate at its fullest potential.

"That's going to be one of our main sources for getting all of our data, information, and computer systems up and going," Sybrant said. "We're just waiting to see if that's going to be done by the time we're going to need it, at this point it's kind of a wait and see."

Overall, the center is expected to create a more efficient response time for public service departments when assisting residents in need. Sybrant says having a singular dispatch center will cut down on any lag time for responses, and will provide high quality service to all of Platte County.

"In the past, all of the 911 calls came to Columbus Police Department, and if it's a call that's out in the county, it has to be transferred to the Sheriff's Office for them to handle," Sybrant said. "Once our center is up and going, we will all be under one roof, that will not have to happen. Whether they (residents) are dealing with the Sheriff's Office or the Police Department, they will get the same superb customer service."