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Officals vote to begin 911 design work

ELKINS — During a special meeting Wednesday morning, the Randolph County Commission voted unanimously to have a West Virginia architecture firm begin the design phase for the proposed future location of the Randolph County 911 and Office of Emergency Management.

The approval allows for Silling Architects, of Charleston, to begin developing blueprints for the facility — the former Emerson Phares Building on the campus of the Elkins-Randolph County Regional Airport — which is expected to take roughly 90 days.

Once the design aspect is completed, Commissioners hope to put the project out to bid for local contract in mid- to late summer to determine the project’s potential cost.

Recently, Commissioner Mark Scott, along with 1st Ward Elkins City Councilmen Bob Woolwine and Nils Heinke, all of whom sit on the Airport Authority Board, recently traveled to Beckley to discuss the endeavor with members of the Federal Aviation Administration.

“The negotiations or dealings with the Airport Authority are moving forward.

Commissioner Scott and two of the other board members flew to Beckley and met with the FAA last week,” Commission President Mike Taylor said during the meeting.

Scott said the organization had questions regarding the move but those were addressed out at the meeting.

“We went to Beckley and sat down with the FFA. There were some concerns with the initial lease that we had presented to the Airport Authority so it was more of an informational clarification and answering different questions they had…,” Scott added. “We feel comfortable we are not going to have a problem with meeting the obligations they’ve asked us to meet regarding the lease for the 911 center.”

Taylor further explained that if, at any time, a roadblock or stall in negotiations were to take place, the Commission can say “stop what you’re doing” and only be responsible for a “percentage of the cost to Silling Architects up to that point.” He added he does not, however, anticipate that happening.

On Jan. 4, the County Commission received an initial report from the architecture firm regarding a study they performed on the building.

During the Jan. 4 meeting, Silling Director of Business Development Mike Moore and architect Jeremy Jones led the presentation, describing the potential renovation necessary to meet building, life safety and accessibility codes while fulfilling operational needs of the agency.

“This building, on the surface, appeared to be a great fit,” Moore said.

The exterior of the building would require tree stump, gravel, signage, curb cuts and dumpster removal, according to the study. New work would include installing impact resistant gates with card access entry, video intercom for visitor entry and an induction loop for vehicular exit, all to promote security.

“To start with, it’s a very good start — isolated — with the majority of the perimeter fenced,” Jones said. “With the exception of keeping the public out of the main parking area with controlled gate entry, it’s really minimal demolition.”

The roof of the facility will also need to be replaced because it has “exceeded its useful life” and does not meet current energy code. They note in the study that much of the rooftop equipment is obsolete and unnecessary for the operations of a modern facility.

“It’s an existing ballasted roof on rubber and we recognize that it’s past its useful life, so we take the ballast up and remove the roofing,” Jones said. “There is three inches of rigid insulation presently on the roof.

“To meet energy code compliance we would just add an additional inch,” he continued. “The existing structure is sloped, which helps us for the water drainage to the roof drains, which appear to be in great condition, so we would replace the roof drain caps and add an addition tapered insulation on top of the one-inch just for water drainage purposes. So it’s not an extreme expense.”

The interior of the building would likely require all new hardware to become compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, a new air handling system and a “total re-do” of the fire alarm system.

Additional recommended upgrades include 17-20 exterior and interior surveillance cameras, bullet resistance call center doors and 20 doors requiring card access.

The 11,876 square-foot facility was designed by architect J.D. King in 1987.

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