County officials and others look at a new computer-aided dispatching station at the new Wood County 911 Center during a tour of the facility on Thursday. Work is finishing up with the county expected to take possession of the building soon. Officials estimate the new center will be operational by sometime in spring 2024. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG — The new Wood County 911 Center will be a state-of-the-art facility which will allow for growth and changes in the coming years.

The Wood County Commission, Wood County Clerk Joe Gonzales, Wood County Prosecutor Pat Lefebure, West Virginia Auditor J.B. McCuskey and others toured the 18,000-square-foot facility at the former Suddenlink building near Interstate 77 and U.S. 50 Thursday morning.

“When we acquired the building, we knew we could develop a world-class 911 operation,” Wood County Commission President Blair Couch said. “It will fulfill a lot of our needs.

“We are spending a lot of money on CAD (computer-assisted dispatching) systems and telecommunications to be future-proof. I don’t think Wood County will need another 911 center after this,” he said.

Officials saw various offices, the training area, the emergency operations center, the dispatching room, the server room, the storage area and more.

Wood County Sheriff Rick Woodyard tells local officials, including Wood County Commissioners Robert Tebay and Jimmy Colombo, about the new computer-aided dispatching stations that will be featured at the new Wood County 911 Center. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

Wood County 911 Director Mike Shook said they will be doing a walk-through Tuesday with the fire marshal’s office with the hope of being able to take full possession of the building soon after.

“We are taking it day by day,” Shook said. “Hopefully soon they will be giving us the keys to the door and we can really start putting things in here.”

Once they have possession, they will begin the process of getting everything moved in as well as getting new equipment set up. Officials estimate the new center will be operational by sometime in spring 2024.

Officials said the 911 operations outgrew the current facility on Core Road which is around 4,500-square-foot.

Shook said there is equipment on order and they have to get things assembled, but he is excited to get the new center set up.

Commissioner Robert Tebay and others listen to Wood County Sheriff Rick Woodyard in the server room at the new Wood County 911 Center. The sheriff talked about computer systems and what the new 911 center will be able to handle. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

“This will be a lot better place to be working, everything will be new, and everyone will have more room,” he said.

Wood County Sheriff Rick Woodyard was 911 director when the project started and has seen it through. He said dispatchers will be going from an 800-square-foot space to 1,300 square feet in the new center.

The design of the new center was driven by challenges encountered during the 2017 IEI fire, the derecho and more, Woodyard said, adding there is space for people and organizations to break out and focus on specific concerns and more.

“This is going to be a robust center with state-of-the-art equipment in it,” Woodyard said. “Everything is new from the software to the computers.

“I think it will serve the citizens of the county for years to come.”

Wood County 911 Director Mike Shook leads officials through the new 911 Center on Thursday during a tour. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

The Wood County 911 Center handles dispatching for Wood and Wirt counties. Officials have heard talk that, at some point, the state might someday go to more regional 911 centers where multiple counties are dispatched out of a single center. Officials designed the Wood County 911 Center to fill that need, if required one day.

“There could be opportunities for other counties to be a part of this,” Couch said. “We aren’t looking to take over any county. We just want to provide world-class service to those who call 911 with highly trained and skilled operators.

“We are spending money to put in the best of the best. It is a secure facility.”

They have eight computer-aided dispatching stations set up in the main dispatch center. Right now they need six. There is room to expand to more if and when they are needed, officials said.

Space will also be available for the county to store its voting machines as well as files and evidence used by the Wood County Prosecutor’s office.

West Virginia Auditor J.B. McCuskey, Wood County Commission President Blair Couch and Wood County 911 Director Mike Shook look over the new storage area at the new 911 Center. The space will securely hold the county voting machines as well as files for the county clerk and county prosecutor’s offices. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

Having election integrity is a critical piece, Couch said. They will have cameras watching the storage area.

“This increases election security,” he said.

Lefebure said they will have more space available to store case files they are required to keep. It will also allow his office easier access to those files.

Woodyard said with some of the progress the county is seeing with economic development and more, the new center will meet the needs for a long time to come.

“I am proud of the project and how it turned out,” he said.

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com