Joint Boards of Selectmen (JBOS) Chairman Enrico Cappucci of Shirley told board members at the Oct. 8 JBOS meeting that centralization of records was one of the advantages of a regional dispatch center at Devens, a proposed project for which MassDevelopment (MassDev) secured grant money earlier this month from the State 911 Department on behalf of the Devens Fire Department. “Participating [in a regional dispatch center] is a ‘no-brainer,’” he said.
In its grant application for the project, MassDev proposed a regional facility that would “improve response time and effectiveness during times of critical incidents or terrorist attack by integrating the dispatch systems of Devens, Shirley, and Harvard, and [by] improving the efficiency of dispatch …” The grant that was awarded is for architectural and engineering services, labor, and materials to expand the existing Devens Fire Communications Center and for various equipment such as furniture, computers and radio equipment.
Cappucci pointed out that currently events recorded in individual communities stay in the town in which they were recorded and that, with regional dispatch, records of all events would be stored centrally and accessible to any town participating in the system.
Although Harvard selectmen have not endorsed a project to create a regional dispatch center, and other JBOS members have concerns about it, JBOS is continuing to explore the idea.
Ayer Selectman Gary Luca said he was “concerned about up-front costs of the project.”
Harvard Selectman Peter Warren stated “saving money is not the issue; my big concern is not cutting corners.” He added that the systems need to be proven to be fail-safe, and said that he needs to be sure that there is adequate communications infrastructure to cover Harvard’s hilly terrain, especially areas around Stow Road.
Harvard Selectman Ron Ricci said, “This is in the idea stage and we owe it to communities to take a hard look at it.”
Officials from Ayer, Shirley, and Harvard, including Harvard Fire Chief Bob Mignard and Police Chief Ed Denmark, plan to meet in three to four weeks to review the impact of going to a regional dispatch center versus maintaining local centers.
