Otsego County 911 Center

Receives $840K State Grant

By PARKER FISH • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

In a press release sent out this morning, Otsego County Director of 911 Communications Robert O’Brien announced that the county’s 911 dispatch department had secured $842,330 in New York State grant funding. The total sum is divided between two seperate grants: $157,687 under the New York State Public Safety Answering Points Operation Grant Program for upgrades to the call center, and $684,650.00 under the New York State Statewide Interoperable Communications Grant Program which will be used to build three additional communications towers to improve coverage for the dispatchers. 

“Otsego County and its partners in Fire, EMS, Law Enforcement and Public Works have been concentrating on improving interoperability and operability of communications systems in Otsego County,” said O’Brien in this morning’s press release. “These funds will be utilized to complete the three final tower sites necessary for completion of the Emergency Services Telecommunications project that began almost ten years ago.”

According to O’Brien, new towers will go up in Morris, Roseboom, and New Lisbon. With the new towers being built, improvements in cell coverage for residents could be soon to follow.

“The towers are being built large enough to carry wireless carriers,” said O’Brien, who clarified that nothing is in the works just yet with any providers. “That being said, no commitment has been made yet about cell service. That’s something that we may look at down the road.”