Albany County plans new 911 call center

$9M Clarksville facility to cost less than other options

The county may spend up to $10 million to support a new 911 dispatch center at the county sheriff’s substation in Clarksville.

The Albany County Legislature sent the resolution supporting $9 million in bonds to its audit and finance committee earlier this week until an environmental review is completed.

The new dispatch center hasbeenapartofthe county’s planned capital projects for some time.

Initially the plan was to build the center near the county-owned nursing home in Colonie. But Sheriff Craig Apple said Tuesday that the decision was made to instead build next to the Clarksville substation to save the county money. While the Colonie project was never put out to bid, initial cost estimates were around $13 million, he said.

“We’ve actually been able to shave off a minimum of $3 million to $4 million by moving into Clarksville,” he said.

The extra costs would have been in ensuring the center blended in with the area and matched the appearance of the nursing home. The remaining $1 million balance is expected to come from infrastructure grants from the state.

The plan is to begin construction early next year.

The sheriff department’s current dispatch center operates out of Voorheesville. Apple said that station now dispatches for six law enforcement agencies and nearly two dozen EMS and fire departments, an expansion from the single law enforcement agency and a dozen or so EMS and fire departments it dispatched for when it was built in the early 1990’s.

Apple said he did not believe the county could hold off much longer on building the new 911 center.

“Some of our technology is at the end of its life,” he said. “We want to make sure that we’re fully capable and prepared to give you the best 911 system that we can.”

A spokeswoman for County Executive Dan Mccoy said he supports the project.

The sheriff’s department has operated a substation out of the former Clarksville Elementary school off Route 443 on Verda Lane since 2012. The 32,000-square-foot substation houses the department’s investigative unit, evidence department, emergency management unit, emergency medical services and patrol division.

Apple has tried to expand the department’s footprint in the building before. In 2017, he unsuccessfully offered up a plan to expand a number of county services to the department’s substation including social services, child protective services, and mental health.