Fiscal Court reviews 911 mapping progress, discusses funding options
Judge Executive Dean Watts discusses options for the fairest way to collect 911 fees from users at Tuesday’s Nelson Fiscal Court meeting.
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, 9 p.m. — Nelson Fiscal Court got a close-up look at the county’s addressing issues related to an upcoming audit of the county’s E-911 mapping capabilities.
Ron Householder points to an example of non-conforming address numbers on a road in Nelson County.
Ron Householder of MapSync told the court that the planned June audit by the state’s Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) board will test the accuracy of the county’s GIS mapping. The audit will test 20 to 30 address points and then determine if the county address data is is within 33 feet of the actual physical location.
“GIS” stands for Geographic Information Systems, which creates a map that includes more data than a traditional map, Householder said.
“(GIS maps) can be described as being ‘smart maps,'” he told the court. “They are maps that are data-driven and have databases behind the features.”
The accuracy of the mapping is critical in allowing 911 dispatchers to get emergency services dispatched to the location where are needed, he explained.
David Evans, the City of Bardstown’s GIS coordinator who is working with the E-911 dispatch board on the county GIS mapping, gave an overview of what the mapping project means to residents.
Magistrates Sam Hutchins and Keith Metcalfe talk prior to the state of Tuesday’s Nelson Fiscal Court meeting. Click to enlarge.
Private roads in the county with two or more homes must now be named, Evans explained. The homes on these private roads must also have a numerical street address that will represent the distance the home is located from the beginning of the private road.
Initially, 52 private roads were identified that needed new names, creating new addresses for 160 homes. Many of these roads have been named and addressing completed, Evans said.
Another 80 private roads have also been added to the list, which affect 245 homes. that are in the process of being named and addresses assigned.
And there are some streets with addresses that don’t comply to the standard, and in those cases the street names won’t need to change, only the house numbers will change.
The criteria means that the numerical address will be tied to the home’s distance from the beginning of the road. The house numbers will also have to be in proper sequence.
“It’s inconvenient to change your address,” Householder said. “But its far more inconvenient to die of a heart attack when an ambulance can’t find you.”
Some roads and addresses have been changed, and there are more that will be changed in the near future. Residents who live on unnamed private roads will be asked for their input on coming up with a road name; otherwise, a name will be selected.
911 FUNDING DISCUSSION. Judge Executive Dean Watts led the court in a brief discussion about moving the existing landline 911 fee collection method off telephone bills to either property tax bills or utility bills.
His research and handout continue to show that placing the fee on property tax bills will result in higher revenues collected compared to doing placing the fee on utility bills. The problem with placing the fee on property tax bills is that renters won’t pay the fee.
The information was for the magistrates’ informational purposes, Watts said, adding that finding a fair way to fund 911 services is a challenge.
Watts did not comment on the changes the City of Bardstown have proposed to the interlocal agreement that governs the joint city-county dispatch board. He said he will talk with Bardstown Mayor John Royalty about the proposal sometime next week.
Watts said he was also looking to see if any county breaks down its costs by the volume of calls to the agencies its 911 dispatch serves.
In other business, the court:
— heard a report from EMS Director Joe Prewitt on the progress of the Line of Duty Death Benefit bill which is making progress in the Kentucky General Assembly. The legislation would provide the same type of death benefit that other first-responders receive who die in the line of duty.
— praised the work county and contract crews did in removing snow and treating roads during the recent two snow events. The county spent about $45,000 for the salt and sand used on county roads for both events.
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