During a meeting of the Carter County 911 Board Wednesday, Chairman Mike Shouse said recent heavy rainfall had brought some drainage issues to light at the Carter County 911 Communications Center.
“We’ve got a major problem at the back of the building with drainage,” Shouse said. “It is not an easy fix, and it will not be a cheap fix.”
“We will have to have it professionally fixed,” he added. “I don’t think just digging a ditch will fix it.”
During the recent rains, Shouse said water had pooled up behind the building to the point staff members were afraid water would run into the building.
The problem is worst around a concreted area just outside the employee break room, 911 Director Dale Blevins said.
“Right back here where we put that patio pad for dispatch, it is like a soup bowl,” he said.
Carter County 911 moved into its new home on South Sycamore Street in July. The emergency agency bought an existing building and made some modifications to the property to suit the center’s needs.
Blevins said he had contacted the architect firm that handled the building modifications to try to determine whether the drainage problem was a pre-existing issue with the property or was something caused by the building modifications. He said he had not received an answer to that question yet.
Board member Terry Arnold, director of the Carter County Rescue Squad, recommended Blevins continue to communicate with the architect firm to try to work the problem out.
“That should have been part of the original contracts to look at the environmental part,” Arnold said.
Blevins also issued a report on a recent audit. He said there were some minor findings dealing with how purchase orders were handled but those issues had been addressed and corrected.
“It was while we were finishing up the last tidbits for this building,” he said, adding that during the transition process, staff had to run to local stores to pick up needed items for the center. “I was there when we were making the purchases and I did approve it.”
He said the purchase order issue was “just an oversight on our part.”
In other action, the board unanimously approved an emergency purchase to install a block heater for the center’s generator. Shouse said without the heater, if the temperature drops below zero degrees, the generator could be affected, including not cycling on when needed.
The board also voted unanimously to change its meeting schedule from every month to every other month. Shouse said regular business could be handled on a two-month schedule and if circumstances arise a special meeting can be called.
The board will meet next at 10 a.m. Dec. 17 at the 911 Communications Center.