The Berrien County Board of Commissioners has been asked to hire Wold Architects and Engineers out of Palatine, Illinois to do the design and planning work for the county’s new 911 Center planned in Buchanan.
Speaking to commissioners Thursday, Berrien County Emergency Management coordinator Rockey Adams said the committee charged with reviewing bids for the project settled on Wold after reviewing three qualified bidders. The design work for the facility would run about $847,000 over three phases.
“Phase One is more investigation, trying to figure out what we want in a design to be able to do cost analysis on that estimation,” Adams said. “Phase two is the actual design and schematics. Then phase three is getting into then construction administration and more of the construction phase portion of the QAQC process.”
Adams said that will ensure the county plans the facility in a way that will suit its needs and not lead to issues later.
The county purchased the building at 500 Circle Drive in Buchanan Township from American Electric Power in 2022 with the intent of making it a 911 and emergency operations center. It later secured a $3 million federal grant for the project. While those funds have been delayed, commissioners are moving ahead with plans for the facility. The full cost of the new center will be determined as part of Phase Two of the planning process.
The goal is to have the new 911 and Emergency Operations Center finished in 2027.
The board will consider the committee’s recommendation to hire Wold at an upcoming meeting.
