Emergency Communications Center

Columbia, especially Boone County, is growing and is projected to continue that growth substantially. Given that the size of an Emergency Communications Center (ECC) is a reflection of a county’s population size, Boone County could no longer service the growing community with its current facility. The new facility, which will be run by the county and located at the back of the county’s facility property near the county jail and sheriff’s annex, joins the forces of the previous city and county EOCs into an integrated facility that will serve the community for decades to come.

While challenging, the building’s sloping site allowed for a loading dock on the lower floor. As the project’s Associate Architect, PWA worked with the civil engineering consultant to find solutions to the site’s challenges that would work for all parties involved in the project.

Throughout the design process, PWA assisted the prime architect, Architects Design Group (ADG), with communications between the County/City and various design consultants, provided interior design and prepared the specifications for the project. Throughout the project’s construction phase, PWA provided the primary work for construction administration.

The project’s design phase involved meetings with all contributing members and stakeholder representatives, including the principal architects, representative consultants, county commissioners, public safety joint communication representatives, police chief, fire department chief, and Boone County auditors. During these meetings, attendees could present their portion of the work, ask questions, offer solutions, and state any group concerns.

With each planning meeting, the design team and stakeholders reviewed the building’s needs and requirements, keeping the overall building size in mind. By estimating the square foot cost, the building could be guided to stay on budget at the start of the project. Key ideas such as the use of multipurpose spaces helped to reduce the overall size of the building without losing function.

This complex and multifaceted $20 million (facility and equipment) ECC Center evolved through this open forum design process. The project kicked off in January 2014 and was completed in June 2016.