By Eric Curl
June 11, 2023 – It’s been about seven years since Chatham County and Savannah decided to build a new emergency response center. County officials are still trying to figure out how to pay for it.
On Friday, the Chatham County Commission approved the submission of a $20 million grant application to the US Department of defense for the proposed public safety building. The grant requires the county provide a $6 million match.
The grants are being issued under the Defense Community Infrastructure Program to assist state and local governments in addressing deficiencies in community infrastructure supportive of a military installation. Chatham was unsuccessful in its application for the grant funds last year, but county officials have since worked with the department of defense, inclusive of Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, to clarify the roles and expectations for a more complete proposal, according to the staff report.
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The current E-911 dispatch and emergency operations are housed in a facility too small and vulnerable to significant weather events, according to county officials.
The county has set aside $53 million through Special Local Option Sales Tax and the capital improvement project funds, which is will be used for the grant match. So far, the county has already invested $1.1 million in architectural design and engineering fees. Since the original concept in 2016, the project’s estimated costs have grown to more than $95 million.
The 83,000-square-foot facility is slated to be built near the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport.
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The design phase for the proposed public safety building is complete, according to county officials, and the next phase is getting bids out for construction over the next six to eight months.
As for the total project cost amount, county offiicials say that value engineering by staff in the coming months will determine what that final number is.
The grant application comes after Chatham and the city of Savannah agreed in 2017 to transfer the operation and control of the E911 Center from the city to the county. The goal of this transition was to promote improvements in public safety communications across all communities and stakeholders throughout Chatham.
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