The Stoddard County 911 Services Board of Directors was told by Administrator Carol Moreland recently address signs for businesses and households are now available at a cost of $20 per sign, which is the cost of their production.
The address signs consist of green stakes with white reflective lettering. Signs without the stakes are $15. Also available are a pair of reflective numbers at a cost of $8.
"The purpose of offering these signs is to provide better emergency response," Moreland said. "We are providing these signs at cost for that reason."
Signs may be ordered at the County 911 Services office at 512 Cooper Street or on the new County 911 website. The new website should be launched next week, according to Moreland.
Moreland said the old website was outdated and was no longer supported. The board voted at an earlier meeting to "start from scratch" with a new website.
After accepting bids, the board awarded a contract to Rust Media of Cape Girardeau, Mo., to build a new website.
Moreland reported that installation of five scanners for the 911 recorder was complete. The recorder is located in the 911 Call Center at the Stoddard County Ambulance District (SCAD) building. Scanners were needed to make the recorder compatible with new digital equipment installed by SCAD.
Moreland said a test of the recorder "went well." She said the new recorder would allow recording of up to 52 channels. She said DSS provided training and would maintain the recorder. The cost of the needed equipment was $9,159 per year for five years. The cost will go down 15 percent after five years and DSS will again refresh the hardware and software.
Moreland reported that several companies will be demonstrating 911 and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system equipment from July 31 to Aug. 4. She recommended the 911 Services Board take their time in deciding which equipment to purchase. Moreland said several companies exhibited their equipment at the Missouri Public Safety Communications Conference held in March. Moreland, SCAD Manager and 911 Board Member Dave Cooper and Kevin Francis were at the conference and used the occasion to look at new equipment.
During regular business, it was reported there were six new addresses in May, bringing the year-to-date total to 36 new 911 addresses.
It was also reported there were 1,195 calls to County 911 in May. Of that number, 87 percent were from cell phones.
The 911 Board has been making equipment upgrades to better find the location of cell phone callers as a result of a 3/16 percent sales tax passed by county voters last year.