During last week's regular session Paulding’s Board of Commissioners took up the thread of a project that’s remained in limbo for now over a year since its original plan was blocked pending the conclusion of an updated Environmental Assessment at Paulding’s Silver Comet Field.
The Commissioners, who later reconvened for their voting session, after much discussion, voted to terminate a contract between the county and Prime Construction Inc. for what was planned as a combined Fire station/911 facility at the Paulding airport site. The board then voted on a separate agenda item to award the new design contract for an E911 center to Croft & Associates. Both items were voted 3-2 by the Board.
Post One Commissioner David Carmichael expressed his concern that the design expense for the original combined project was being lost and felt that a plan to remove the site from FAA focus and then still build on, should be considered. E911 Director David Mumford attended last week's BOC morning session and was planning to head into talks afterwards with Croft and Associates and members of the Board to discuss what will now be a separate 911 facility at a site on Industrial Way, not far from the existing 911 facility.
The BOC voted on March 26, 2013 to authorize a contract with Croft & Associates in the amount of $254,250 for architectural and engineering design services for the new combined Fire Station/E911 Center to be located adjacent to Airport Parkway.
The Board also voted in November of 2013 to approve the bid award to construct the combined Fire Station E-911 facility to Prime Contractors, Inc. in the amount of $3,287,377.82, to be paid out of SPLOST and E-911 funds.
At that time former Community Development Director Chuck Rann told the Board that locating the fire station and E911 together was also desirable from a cost-saving standpoint.
But, that project was stalled since it was planned to be built on airport property. Because of the commercial component introduced at the airport, FAA approval was withdrawn pending a ruling on the environmental assessment that has been required at the site, which has put the new facility in limbo for over a year.
Mumford, who spoke following the conclusion of last week’s morning session, said his only preference now is in moving forward. 

Photo: E911 Director David Mumford (far right)

“Our stance has always been that we need a 911 center...I would have preferred that we had built this a year ago. I don’t know how long or where we are, how much further this is going to draw out...” he said.
Mumford added that the biggest problem at the existing headquarters is space. “Operationally we’re functioning okay. The problem that we have is that we don’t have any room left. If we have an emergency we can bring in one additional person, that’s all. [And] we also don’t have the capacity to manage a disaster.” he said.
Mumford said that while the previous plan did choose the site from several considered at the same time, it was deemed the one most optimum for a location that would combine the two.
Currently the 911 Center is capable of staffing eight employees, seven of which can function as call-takers. The new 911 Center was designed to seat 15 employees and, with new Computer Automated Dispatch (CAD) and telephone systems, along with a planned back-up 911 Center, which could potentially be increased if needed.
But the new project, once approved, going from the design stage through construction, will most likely stretch into the fall of next year, Mumford confirmed.