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County supervisors approve $25-million dispatch center 

County supervisors approve $25-million dispatch center

The building, tower, and site design are based on the Vanir/RRM Design Group (construction manager and master architect) conceptual design for the project. Images produced by Robert Carr, landscape architect for SWCA Environmental Consultants.

Facility will bring dispatch units of sheriff’s office, Cal Fire/ San Luis Obispo County Fire under one roof

– In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors approved a $25 million contract to construct a facility that will bring the dispatch units of the sheriff’s office and Cal Fire/ San Luis Obispo County Fire under one roof.

The 17,000-square-foot facility will be constructed at 356 North Main St. in Templeton bringing a modern, energy-efficient emergency dispatch center to the county. The tower at the new facility is expected to be 140-160 feet tall. At the board of supervisor’s meeting, Paul Porter from IT said the additional height is required for the combined needs of SLO County Fire/CAL Fire (the current tower is 80 feet) and the Sheriff’s Office (the current tower is 60 feet).

Building the new structure means that essential services will no longer operate apart from each other in undersized, deficient buildings that are outdated without room to grow, according to the county.

“This is going to be very important,” said Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Nate Paul. “This represents a significant improvement to our operational capabilities, both as a sheriff’s office alone and in coordination with Cal Fire to meet the growing needs of our county.”

Cal Fire/SLO County Fire Department Battalion Chief David Fowler echoed Paul’s comments, “Consolidating the county’s two biggest dispatch centers is improving our service to the public,” Fowler said. “Right now, all of our communications are over the phone, radio, and computers. In the new facility, we’re going to be able to walk right across the hall and have a conversation – that increases efficiency and response time.”

Besides space, the site will bring ongoing cost savings to the county by meeting or exceeding the county’s Energywise Plan that was adopted by the board of supervisors in 2011.

Some of those elements will include electric vehicle charging stations, a rooftop photovoltaic electrical power generation system (utilizing solar power for energy), and the installation of infrastructure that anticipates a future electric battery storage system (a system that stores electricity when costs are low then providing it for usage during high-cost periods, saving the site hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of the unit’s lifespan).

The dispatch center will be constructed using the design-build method, which creates cohesion between all parties from the beginning of the project – designers and contractors working closely together rather than individually, according to the county.

“Design-build is a collaborative approach, which results in a smooth construction process and a high-quality finished product,” said Public Works Director John Diodati. “Just like this dispatch center is a partnership between two vital county departments, design-build is a partnership between Public Works and the design and construction teams.”

Collectively, the sheriff’s office and Cal Fire/SLO County Fire provide dispatching and emergency services across the county with the exception of the cities of Atascadero, Paso Robles, and San Luis Obispo.

The construction contract was awarded to Diani Building Corporation of Santa Maria.

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The news staff of the Paso Robles Daily News wrote or edited this story from local contributors and press releases. The news staff can be reached at info@pasoroblesdailynews.com.