The Alexander City Outlook

Renovations to Alexander City Police Department’s dispatch center are nearing completion, according to Chief Charles Rafford.

“It has been our goal to make (our dispatchers’) environment as clean, comfortable and ergonomic as possible,” Rafford said. “With the way our budget has been, we have had to focus on more critical items. Fortunately, we were able to put it in out budget this year.”

One of the major goals of the remodel was to rid the room of carpet, which had become a dust trap.

“There shouldn’t have been carpet in there to start with – all it did was collect dust,” Rafford said. “(The dust) is not very healthy when you are in a confined space like that.”

Stone tile was chose to replace the carpet, which Rafford said was easier to clean and maintain. Wiring that had been left from previous equipment upgrades was removed to clean up the space.

Remodeling the room proved to be a logistical exercise, Rafford said.

“It was a challenge because we couldn’t move dispatch to another location – it’s not like we could take dispatch out of that room and set it up temporarily somewhere else,” Rafford said.

The room has been completely repainted using in-house labor, with only some trim and touch-up painting remaining, Rafford said. The department was able to save even more money by building their own cabinet.

“The way we laid out the room, it would have been expensive for us to get a cabinet that would fit our computers the way we wanted,” Rafford said. “Lt. Marty Hodge and I designed some cabinets and built them with the help of Corp. Ford. For the cost of materials, we were able to find a nice solution to help save us some money.”

Rafford said that the dispatchers have one of the hardest jobs in public safety, and he is glad that they now have a better work environment.

“I believe it is a better place for them to work,” Rafford said. “We are very pleased with having it redone, and I believe the dispatchers are as well.”