Hennepin County's 911 Center to Move from Golden Valley to Plymouth
Final approval was recently received to build a new 911 Emergency Communications Center for Hennepin County.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office received the final approval recently needed to begin construction on a new 911 Emergency Communications Facility in Plymouth.
The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners voted to approve the schematic design Tuesday, Dec. 13.
The new Sheriff’s Office 911 Emergency Communications Facility will be located in Plymouth on county-owned land adjacent to the Hennepin County Adult Correctional Facility, located at 1145 Shenandoah Lane.
The facility will be 59,200 square feet and it is budgeted at $33.75 million. Ground breaking is expected to take place in late 2012 and open in 2014.
“When you call 911, our dispatching system must send emergency services without delay,” said Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek, “This is a critical service and we must have the needed infrastructure in order to provide this service in a way that is always reliable and uninterrupted.”
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office personnel dispatch for 19 fire departments and 23 police agencies in 36 communities, including Maple Grove.
According to a press release from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, there is an “urgent need” to replace the 64-year-old Golden Valley facility because the building cannot support the “infrastructure and technology requirements of providing uninterrupted public safety communications in the future.”
Consideration and planning for the new facility has been taking place over the past seven years. A $4.7 million state bonding bill for the project was approved July 2011.
Resolutions of support were adopted by thirty-four city councils, in cities that receive Sheriff’s Office dispatch services including Maple Grove.
However, the support didn’t come with full approval of the Maple Grove City Council. According an article in the Osseo-Maple Grove Press, the request to support the new facility was opposed by Maple Grove Council Member Erik Johnson at a June 6, 2011 meeting. Johnson voted against the project due to the budgeted amount for the project and cost allocation concerns.
