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Where the heck is 3250?

911 Board wants renaming of Lincoln roads

June 10, 2010|Michael Broihier

Monday, Bluegrass 911 Director Russ Clark had a question for the Lincoln County members of the joint Garrard-Lincoln board that supervises the dispatch center in Lancaster, “Can you tell me where Highway 3250 is?” Clark stumped Judge Executive Bill Demrow, Magistrate David Faulkner and Stanford Mayor Bill Miracle, who represent the county on the board, but he might have stumped people who live on that highway as well because they know it as Murphy Road, a two lane road that runs from KY 78 in Chicken Bristle to McKinney.

Clark posed the question because the dispatchers use a system that uses county, state and federal road numbers in Lincoln County, while residents, police officers, firefighters and other first responders all know the road names. If someone calls 911 and requires emergency assistance on Murphy Road, quick response hinges on a dispatcher’s knowledge of the county to translate Murphy Road into KY 3250 for the computer aided dispatching (CAD) system.

Clark said that this translation slows response and could lead to tragedy. Garrard County standardized on using road names only, instead of a mix of names and numbers as is done in Lincoln, and the 911 center doesn’t have nearly as many problems.

Faulkner was alarmed that Clark was proposing that the county rename all of its roads and forgo the use of numbers. “Renaming roads is a big deal,” Faulkner said, pointing out that it’s not just a matter of re-signing roads and public education, but it would involve people changing driver’s license information and cause havoc at the PVA and the post office.

The joint board that supervises the emergency dispatch center has no statutory authority and any decisions made would have to come from the Lincoln County Fiscal Court. Garrard Judge Executive John Wilson provided a copy of the ordinance used to standardize addresses in his county. Judge Demrow said he’d study it and suggested that Lincoln Property Valuation Administrator David Gambrel be invited to the next board meeting to discuss the scope of a renaming project.

In other business, the board approved purchasing equipment and service agreements to enable dispatchers in the center to access the FBI’s National Crime Information Center database online. Currently, dispatchers can check for warrants in Kentucky, but have no real visibility on a suspect’s criminal past. If law enforcement officers want that information, Bluegrass 911 contacts the KSP.

Garrard County Sheriff Ronnie Wardrip said that having the system onsite would be a huge benefit, but it also contains information that must be closely guarded. He personally approves any use of the system for background checks and recommends that Lincoln do the same.

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