The county funded the majority of the project and oversaw its construction. Officials describe it as a showcase to provide better and more efficient service by eliminating call transfers between jurisdictions and connecting participating agencies with uniform state-of-the-art technology.
鈥淚’ve been doing this since 1996,鈥 said Lake County board member J. Kevin Hunter, a retired firefighter/EMT representing the Fox Lake and Lake Villa area and chair of JETSB. 鈥淭o see solutions and to see it in my lifetime is huge.鈥
LakeComm will use a computer software system introduced last year for local law enforcement and fire/EMS agencies that consolidates Computer Aided Dispatch, records management, law enforcement reporting and a dozen other systems into a single package.
Notable entities including Waukegan and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, which operate their own dispatch centers, and Libertyville and Lindenhurst, which have contracted with Glenview Public Safety Dispatch Center, have not joined. But there is room if that changes, officials say.
The EMA will seat up to 52 鈥渃ritical partners鈥 to coordinate during situations and planned events and includes room for ham radio operators, who will be pivotal in the event of a widespread communications failure, officials say.
It also will use the space to prepare and train Lake County and local towns for major storms, disasters and countywide emergencies.
The facility itself will allow for 鈥済reater partnerships between public safety and emergency management,鈥 said Dan Eder, Lake County EMA manager.