Hazel Crest is planning to purchase a vacant bank building for use in consolidation of two 911 dispatching agencies that serve 13 south suburbs.
The former Bank Financial building, 3700 183rd St., would house the E-Com and SouthCom dispatch operations, with the village buying the building and leasing it to the merged dispatch agency, according to initial discussion Tuesday by village trustees.
E-Com became operational in late 2005 and serves nine suburbs — Country Club Hills, East Hazel Crest, Flossmoor, Glenwood, Hazel Crest, Homewood, Riverdale, South Holland and Thornton.
SouthCom started operating in 2011 and serves Matteson, Olympia Fields, Park Forest and Richton Park.
E-Com operates a dispatch center in Homewood and SouthCom’s dispatch operations are in Matteson.
The Hazel Crest Village Board is to vote Dec. 14 on the purchase of the bank building for $550,000. If approved, the village could close on the purchase by the end of this year, according to village manager Dante Sawyer. He said there were no objections voiced by trustees during Tuesday’s discussion.
Mayor Vernard Alsberry said Thursday Hazel Crest was selected as the site for the combined center, although it could be several months before the dispatch center is operational.
Alsberry said it could benefit nearby businesses, such as restaurants, by bringing more traffic to the 183rd Street corridor. The bank building is just west of Village Hall.
“It will bring a great use to a facility that might otherwise sit vacant,” Alsberry said.
Sawyer said a committee comprised of E-Com and SouthCom directors reviewed at least a half-dozen properties. He said the bank halted operations at the site earlier this year.
“It’s in solid condition and required less work that other locations evaluated,” Sawyer said.
The building is 13,500 square feet, and Alsberry said apart from dispatch operations, the building would include a dispatcher training facility.
“It provides them with space for growth,” he said.
Certain state rules do not allow emergency telecommunication agencies to own real estate, so the village would lease the building to the dispatch center.
Alsberry said he believed that the center could be operational by spring, although Sawyer said it is unclear how soon the building could be equipped and running as the merger of the two agencies has not yet been finalized.
“There are still a lot of steps that have to be completed,” Sawyer said.
As part of the consolidation, a joint emergency telephone system board will be created, with two representatives from each community, one of whom would be an elected or appointed public official from that town.
In January, E-Com and SouthCom both applied to state police for a $5 million grant that would help pay for the consolidation, and this summer were informed they are in line for an initial grant of $2.9 million.
mnolan@tribpub.com
