[sguil1]

The Orleans Parish Communication District has agreed to negotiate a contract with a local architecture company to design an expansion of the Chief Warren E. McDaniels Sr. 911 Center.

The OPCD Board of Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution allowing OPCD executive director Tyrell Morris to negotiate with VergesRome to expand the facility at 118 City Park Ave.

In March, the board authorized a concept and feasibility study to be completed by VergesRome. The expansion is needed to handle a growing staff and partnerships with regional public safety agencies, officials have said.

A news release said the project will include the following:

Additional space and positions on the OPCD operations floor to manage increased 9-1-1 and 3-1-1 call volumes, and to provide services for all emergency response agencies operating in Orleans Parish
Bunking space for OPCD and partner agency personnel during extended emergency operations
Emergency Operations Center
Training and simulation space
Emergency vehicle storage for public safety agencies to stage for easy deployment
Increased technology infrastructure space to accommodate Next Generation 9-1-1 technology soon to be required by federal legislation
An onsite childcare facility designed for the families of first responders.
“Since the consolidation of 9-1-1 operations in 2016, OPCD has continued to grow in our services and function, growing from 16 to 180 full time employees,” Morris said in a statement. “As the entity responsible for emergency and non-emergency services for the City of New Orleans, it is imperative that we have the resources necessary to execute our mission for the ever-evolving public safety environment of the 21st century. Emergency communications centers no longer function simply as call centers; they now operate as intelligence organizations on the front line, and need to be resourced as such.”

A design is expected to be presented within the coming months, the news release said.

The total project cost ranges between $15 million to 25 million and would be funded through a combination of bonds, grants and 9-1-1 fee revenue.

https://neworleanscitybusiness.com/b...ns-911-center/