CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Charles Pointe will be the future home for a new Harrison/Taylor 911 Center, as approved during Wednesday’s Harrison County Commission meeting.
Commission will move forward to purchase the Comvest building at Charles Pointe in Bridgeport.
The motion passed 2-1, with Commission President Ron Watson as the one opposing vote.
“The other two commissioners certainly were trying to do what’s best for the taxpayer dollars and felt that they could save a few million dollars by buying this structure and that it would fit the needs of the 911 center,” Watson said.
Commission previously discussed utilizing the Quarry property in Clarksburg, which the county already owns. Watson said $1 million was spent in studies to determine if the land was suitable for such a structure.
“We needed to continue with the plan that we had,” he said. “Yes, the purchase of the Convest building will save dollars, but at the same time, it’s a much lesser structure, and there’s not a plan for future need or future expansion.”
Watson said he does not believe the Convest building is conducive for a 911 center, due mostly to its ease of accessibility.
“Being in an isolated gives much better protection for a 911 center,” he said.
The projected cost of the building is between $2.1 and $2.2 million, not including the cost of any work to be completed at the site.
“The other complex at the Quarry would’ve been somewhere around $5 million,” Watson said. “But again this $2.1 or $2.2 (million) does not include the renovations and retrofitting it to meet the needs of the 911, so there could be another million or so that would need to be put into that building.”
Watson said it will take about 45 days to meet the terms and conditions of the sale.
“As we sign off on it, it then becomes the property of the county commission,” he said. “From there, it’s estimated it could take another year to renovate to then house the 911 services.”