Waukegan officials decided last summer that joining Lake Consolidated Emergency Communications (LakeComm) — rather than dispatching police, fire and emergency medical services for the city itself — was the wrong move. Officials then began a search for the best solution.
Recognizing the aging dispatch center at the Waukegan Police Station needed an overhaul, city director of communications Tom Perfect said he found a location at the Waukegan International Airport for the city to start its own 911 operation. Services will be offered to other towns as well.
Mayor Ann Taylor said the city’s proposed 911 dispatch center met the city’s needs, which go beyond what the LakeComm would provide. Dispatching for other municipalities would help defray the cost.
“We were not getting the answers we needed, and we decided to go off on our own,” Taylor said. “They weren’t able to handle after-hours public works calls and animal control. This provides everything we need.”
The Waukegan City Council unanimously approved four pieces of legislation Monday at City Hall to acquire the necessary equipment and provide services to Winthrop Harbor, Park City and Tower Lakes, as well as voting 8-1 to lease the space.
“This will give the city everything it needs,” Taylor said. “With Lake County, we weren’t getting that. If we’re lucky, we’ll make some money, too.”
Along with leasing 5,000 square feet of space in a building at the airport which will undergo significant renovation before it can open, Perfect said the city will spend just under $1.7 million for the needed equipment.
Work will start soon. Perfect said the project will be complete in eight to 12 months. The needed personnel are either on board and working, or the positions are already approved so everything is within the existing budget.
Along with police, fire and emergency medical services, Perfect said the center will handle after-hours calls for the city’s Public Works Department and all dispatch needs of Animal Control. It will take police and fire calls for Winthrop Harbor, plus police calls for Park City and Tower Lakes. Expansion is possible.
“We have room to take on additional agencies,” Perfect said. “We’d be open to helping North Chicago, Zion or any other agency looking for service. We have the space for that kind of expansion.”
After unanimously approving purchases of equipment and intergovernmental agreements with Winthrop Harbor, Park City and Tower Lakes without any discussion, Ald. Jose A. Guzman, 2nd Ward, balked at the amount of rent for the space.
Taylor said the city would be paying 60 cents per square foot for the space, and comparable prices would be closer to $1.80 per square foot. The airport is owned by the Waukegan Port District, which is a separate governmental entity from the city.
“We are getting over 5,000 square feet and you’re lucky if you could ever get $1.80,” Taylor said. “I was sent on a mission to get it for 80 cents a square foot and I came back with 60. I don’t know how much cheaper we can get it.”
Guzman felt because of the relationship between the city and the airport, there should not be any rent, especially since the city will be improving the building.
“ I think it should be free,” he said. “We’re not just going in there. We’re upgrading their whole building. If this is a partnership, it should be free.”
Ald. Thomas Hayes, 9th Ward, said trying to get the property rent-free would be inappropriate. The dispatchers are cramped in their basement location in the police department. It is time to make the move, he said.
“For the City Council flex and say, ‘You should give us this space for free.’ is in bad taste,” Hayes said. “We need space. They have space. Our dispatchers are cramped in. They’re having a hard time doing their job. We owe it to the city to give the dispatchers the space to do their job.”
With contracts approved with Winthrop Harbor, Park City and Tower Lakes, Taylor said there should be no delay.
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