It is a persistent problem and one that could ultimately result in dire consequences; individuals who neglect to properly display the assigned numeric of their homes and businesses in the county.
“Probably over 50% of residences in the county do not have their numbers properly visible,” estimated Coffee 911 representative Kesha Taylor during the regular meeting of the Coffee County Commission on Monday. “This presents major problems for emergency personnel when they are trying to locate places they are dispatched. Obviously, it has a great potential to cut down on response time and could be catastrophic. Every minute, every second counts sometimes.”
All members of the commission concurred with Taylor’s assessment but, thus far, seem to be at a loss at to what to do in order to address the problem.
There is a county ordinance which requires individuals to place residential and business numbers in a highly visible area on or adjacent to their property. However, the problem has apparently gotten so large that even code enforcement does not have the time or resources to address the problem sufficiently.
“I think we need to consider what can be done before our next meeting and see if we can come up with some sort of plan of action,” Chairman Frank Jackson said. “We may need to start writing some citations for these, but I also think we should (engage) in something along the lines of a public awareness program letting people know how important this is.”
In other business, the commissioners unanimously approved a complete overhaul of the county’s current E-911 operating system. At a total cost of $110,440, the department will be replacing all its existing computer servers, personal computers, and will be installing upgraded software.
The equipment being utilized at this time, according to county administrator Wesley Vickers, is over nine years old, and the new equipment is needed in order to keep up with demands.
AT&T is being contracted for the project and will also be charging a monthly maintenance fee of $1,524. The noted expenditures are covered under the latest SPLOST referendum, Vickers stated, and added the monthly fee is several hundred dollars less than what the county is currently paying.