×

Cambria County approves 911 pact

Agreement to improve communications among counties

EBENSBURG — An intergovernmental agreement approved Thursday by the Cambria County commissioners is intended to improve communications across county lines while taking advantage of available funding.

At Thursday’s meeting, Cambria County commissioners voted unanimously on a pair of decisions that supported the 911 center-related agreement.

Robbin Melnyk, the county’s 911 coordinator, addressed those in attendance, explaining that the agreement will allow local officials to collaborate with others in Bedford, Blair, Centre, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset counties.

Those counties are part of an intergovernmental group known as the Southern Alleghenies 911 Cooperative.

“They have been established for about three years now, and they are ready for us to become part of that group,” Melnyk said.

Cambria County already is part of another 911 cooperative known as Region 13, which Melnyk described as a terrorism task force.

The cooperative allows its participants to take advantage of Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency funding, which can be leveraged to make improvements across the region, she said.

Because of Cambria’s geographic location, it can serve as a bridge between the two groups — Region 13 and the Southern Alleghenies 911 Cooperative, Melnyk said.

“So it is an opportunity to link the two groups … to again take advantage of PEMA money that’s out there to connect counties,” she said.

That money will help to make large-scale upgrades, officials said.

“This isn’t day-to-day personnel expenses,” Melnyk said, “but it’s tower sites that might be shared across two counties or telephone equipment or recorders or (computer-aided dispatch) systems.”

Commissioner Mark Wissinger spoke about the impact PEMA funding can have in offsetting local budget costs.

“We’re talking capital costs here. They are significant,” he said. “Not day-to-day operational costs, but the capital costs that we need to maintain a system and improve the system to take us into the next 20 years.”

Mirror Staff Writer Sean Sauro is at 946-7535.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today