County board reverses dispatch decision

Published 7:54 am Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Regional dispatch may still be in the cards for Mower County, but a potential location changed again.

The county board reversed its motion to take part in the Interstate 35 Corridor Regional Study after the group defunct after failing to get four counties involved in the project.

The county instead passed a motion Tuesday to be part of a study with counties like Winona, Freeborn, Houston, Fillmore, Winona, Goodhue and Olmsted.

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Commissioner Tony Bennett previously said the study would look at forming regional centers based on current radio boards.

Each county would receive $25,000 from the state for the study, said Bennett. The study alone will take about six months to a year, according to County Coordinator Craig Oscarson.

The study would address things like cost and feasibility.

The county board is looking into ways to join forces with other counties to regionalize services and save money.

Involvement in the study doesn’t mean the county has to be part of a potential regional dispatch center.

The board previously passed on joining a regional dispatch center in Owatonna because the center wouldn’t led to cost savings for the county.