Berea/county begin work on 911 safety board
Two out of three: Berea Mayor Steve Connelly and Madison County Judge Executive Kent Clark say they still hope Richmond will join the 911 Public Safety Board, though Richmond has declined for now.
Two out of three isn’t bad – at least for now.
That’s the opinion of officials from the city of Berea and Madison County following the first meeting of the 911 Public Safety Board last Thursday.
At an April 4 meeting of the Richmond City Commission meeting, Berea Mayor Steve Connelly and Madison County Judge Executive Kent Clark urged the Richmond City Commission to join in the formation of a 911 Public Safety Board, an advisory body that would propose improvements for the current 911 system and secure grants for equipment upgrades and improvements.
According to Richmond City Manager David Evans, Richmond is opting to hold off on joining the board until such a time that the three local governments can hold a summit and discuss the issue in depth. Until then, Madison County Judge Executive Kent Clark said the the county and Berea decided to move ahead.
“They [Richmond] want to more or less think about it a little bit more and maybe get together with us at a later date,” said Kent Clark. “Right now a majority of the commission really isn’t interested, and that’s fine. But this is something we feel strongly about, and we think it will eventually happen.”
The board consists of nine members, including the chiefs of the Berea police and fire departments, the Madison County Sheriff, County Coroner, the chief of the Madison County Fire Department, the commander of the Kentucky State Police, and Madison County EMS. Two at large members are to be announced later.
Mayor Steve Connelly said he hopes the three local governments will eventually work together on the 911 board for the purpose of establishing common rules of procedure during an emergency, as well as the common language required by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Federal regulations stipulate that local governments must adopt certain common procedures for emergency siutations in order to draw DHS funding.
Connelly said the city of Lexington was motivated to coordinate their emergency dispatch services after the shooting death of Lexington paramedic Brenda Cowan, and that he hopes it won't take a similar incident to bring the three governments together.
“It’s very important for us to move in this joint direction, and not necessarily to have joint dispatch,” Connelly said. “There are just so many things we need to be working on together and we’re going to do it. Hopefully Richmond will realize they need to be a part of it.”
That’s the opinion of officials from the city of Berea and Madison County following the first meeting of the 911 Public Safety Board last Thursday.
At an April 4 meeting of the Richmond City Commission meeting, Berea Mayor Steve Connelly and Madison County Judge Executive Kent Clark urged the Richmond City Commission to join in the formation of a 911 Public Safety Board, an advisory body that would propose improvements for the current 911 system and secure grants for equipment upgrades and improvements.
According to Richmond City Manager David Evans, Richmond is opting to hold off on joining the board until such a time that the three local governments can hold a summit and discuss the issue in depth. Until then, Madison County Judge Executive Kent Clark said the the county and Berea decided to move ahead.
“They [Richmond] want to more or less think about it a little bit more and maybe get together with us at a later date,” said Kent Clark. “Right now a majority of the commission really isn’t interested, and that’s fine. But this is something we feel strongly about, and we think it will eventually happen.”
The board consists of nine members, including the chiefs of the Berea police and fire departments, the Madison County Sheriff, County Coroner, the chief of the Madison County Fire Department, the commander of the Kentucky State Police, and Madison County EMS. Two at large members are to be announced later.
Mayor Steve Connelly said he hopes the three local governments will eventually work together on the 911 board for the purpose of establishing common rules of procedure during an emergency, as well as the common language required by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Federal regulations stipulate that local governments must adopt certain common procedures for emergency siutations in order to draw DHS funding.
Connelly said the city of Lexington was motivated to coordinate their emergency dispatch services after the shooting death of Lexington paramedic Brenda Cowan, and that he hopes it won't take a similar incident to bring the three governments together.
“It’s very important for us to move in this joint direction, and not necessarily to have joint dispatch,” Connelly said. “There are just so many things we need to be working on together and we’re going to do it. Hopefully Richmond will realize they need to be a part of it.”