Clark County votes to spend $400K to improve 911 service
Las Vegas‘ 911 system is about to get an upgrade.
But first a Metro building needs a new floor.
The Clark County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved spending $400,000 to $600,000 to expedite a construction project to lay new conduit lines through the floors of the Las Vegas police communications bureau building, 5880 Cameron St. Work should be done by November, Metro‘s director of radio systems Michael Barnbeck said during Tuesday‘s commissioner meeting.
Installation was expected to take a full year before Tuesday‘s vote.
A company to do the work hasn‘t been picked.
The decision to expedite the work comes on the heels of a complete crash of Metro‘s emergency system on June 28, when over 400 of people who dialed 911 were met with a busy signal. The failure, which started about 10.p.m., lasted just over six hours.
Metro‘s fiscal affairs committee had approved the purchase of a $2.3 million, Internet-based system from Airbus DS Communications, less than a week before the outage. The new system will allow police to gather more information from 911 callers and also send out information. That will include knowing a caller‘s location and being able to send out text alerts.
The old tubing, that carries electrical and other wires throughout the building, is embedded in the a concrete floor, Barnbeck said. Instead of ripping out the concrete, the plan is to install 8,200 square feet of "false floor" that is six inches higher than the current floor, Barnbeck said.
The floors will be installed in two-feet by two-feet squares topped with concrete and will allow the new conduit to run underneath, Barnbeck said. The old wires will be disconnected.
Contact reporter Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Find him on Twitter: @ColtonLochhead
