Construction of the new Mineral County Emergency 911 Center on Pine Swamp Road could begin as soon as next month as the organization awaits the approval of a construction contract from the county commission.

County Coordinator Mike Bland said this project has experienced some delays related to financial notices.

“We were hoping to award the contract at the end of last month, but we became delayed on a couple of items, some of them finance-related,” said Bland. “To finance the building a tax exempt loan had to go through a notice process.”

Bland anticipates the commission to issue the notice of award at the end of this month.

“We have to generate bond documents,” said Bland. “Once it is all delivered, they will get the notice to proceed and they can begin construction.”

The 45,000-square foot facility will house the dispatch center and emergency operations center (EOC) -which is used to allow government to continue to function during a disaster.

In addition, the building will accommodate the offices for 911, director of emergency management and the mapping and addressing coordinator.

“The EOC will also host training classes and meetings,” said Marc Bashoor, Director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. “There will also be a separate conference room so we could have two meetings going on at all times if we needed to.

“There will also be men's and women's shower facilities and small bunks designed for an extended emergency EOC.”

Bashoor explains that if these amenities are available, time is saved when employees can shower and sleep at the center instead of driving to and from home during the event of a disaster.

The timeline for completion of the center is within eight-nine months after construction begins, said Bashoor.