Athens County Board of Commissioners tour new 911/EMA building

The PLAINS - The Athens County Board of Commissioners took a guided tour Monday of the new 911 Emergency Communications Center and Emergency Management Agency, led by Director of 911 Emergency Communications Teresa Fouts-Imler.

Athens County 911 will begin moving dispatchers to the new facility in January, but Fouts-Imler does not wish to do so prematurely as there are still bugs that need to be worked out. Dispatchers will be moved two at a time and Athens County 911 will continue to operate its current facility until the center is fully operational.

In August 2023, Athens County broke ground on the center, which is located at 75 Connett Road, The Plains. According to Fouts-Imler, the center’s construction is on schedule. However, the opening will be delayed until after the arrival of the facility’s backup generator on December 3.

During the tour, Fouts-Imler highlighted the center’s design, emphasizing its role as a storm and bomb shelter with 30 inches of concrete on the roof, 24-inch thick walls, ballistic windows and a 500-kilowatt backup generator.

“911 is changing a lot, we are now stepping into a new era. Communications equipment is extremely expensive, so the idea of regionalizing and the consolidation of 911 centers is what we’re looking for in the future,” Fouts-Imler said. “So we designed this facility for Athens County to spearhead the Southeastern part of Ohio. We are the first to be considered a regional PSAP.”

Dispatchers will be provided with customizable workstations that allow them to adjust their monitors and equipment to their preferences. The new desks are ergonomic, with built-in features like heaters, fans and USB ports, designed to improve working conditions for dispatchers.

Fouts-Imler said the layout of the center was designed in light of Athens County 911’s experiences with their current facility during the COVID-19 pandemic. At present, Athens County 911 operates out of the basement of the Athens County Sheriff’s Office.

“(Dispatchers) had no spacing during COVID, we had people working on top of each other and they couldn’t wear their masks because we are communications,” Fouts-Imler explains. “So the idea was to plan, if we would ever have another pandemic, we had everybody spaced far enough apart and room for expansion.”

To improve quality of life for dispatchers, the facility will have a quiet room where dispatchers can decompress, along with natural lighting. There will also be bunks, showers, a break room, a kitchen and a training center.

“The dispatchers currently do not have any place that they can eat away from their consoles currently,” Fouts-Imler said. “So this will give them the ability to step away from the consoles, come out here, prepare something to eat and have a place to just get out of the communication center.”