The Visalia dispatch center that almost didn't happen

Sheyanne N Romero
Visalia Times-Delta
The City of Visalia held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new Emergency Communications Center on Wednesday, September 20, 2017.

After decades stuck in a basement of a dilapidated building, Visalia dispatchers and fire officials have a new home. 

But it almost didn't happen.

Visalia City Manager Mike Olmos said discussions about developing a civic center on the east side of downtown Visalia have gone on for about 15 years. 

City officials decided about six years ago to build it in the vacant lot, bordered by East Center Avenue on the south and East Goshen Avenue to the north, and North Ben Maddox Way to the east and North Burke Street to the west.

"The city has committed to further develop this building and grow our city facilities," he said. "This is a key area for the city and the downtown."

What was once an overgrown field and well-known homeless camp is now the Visalia Emergency Communications Center.

The safest building in town, officials said. 

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Visalia Police Lt. Amy Watkins leads visitors through the new Visalia Emergency Communications Center on Wednesday, September 20, 2017.

The 18,790-square-foot center is home to Visalia fire administration, dispatch and traffic management. Construction was "substantially completed" late last week — just in time for Wednesday's grand opening. 

"I think it's important to point out all the things that happened that supported this building," Olmos said. "This used to be just a thicket in a jungle. Unfortunately, it became an area where the homeless would congregate. All of that has been cleaned up and improved."

Streets were repaved, trails were put in place and clean-up efforts were made by city staff. 

"This isn't your ordinary building," Visalia Police Chief Jason Salazar said. "This will serve the community for a long time. It should because it took a long time to plan and get it here." 

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Plans for the communications center began in 2011. Construction crews broke ground on the building nearly five years later. 

"Visalia had outgrown the dispatch center in terms of space and equipment needs," said former chief Colleen Mestas, who headed the police department when the plans were drawn. "Our initial plan was to have a consolidated dispatch center that would serve the entire county, however the terms couldn't be resolved at that time."

Visalia originally sought to partner with other cities and Tulare County to develop a single, countywide dispatch center.

Dustin Hall leads visitors through the new Visalia Emergency Communications Center on Wednesday, September 20, 2017.

Former supervisor and now Councilman Phil Cox approved the land purchase in 2003. He said the county and city conducted a survey to determine where a countywide dispatch center could be built.

One option was where the current center stands.

"There were a lot of meetings and a lot of discussions," Cox said.  "It would have worked really well."

Tulare County had cash on hand to help pay for construction. The city ultimately decided to move forward without the county. 

The city paid about $11.3 million in construction costs alone for the new VECC, but the total bill — which will include planning and development, new technology for dispatchers and furnishings — is expected to total a little more than $23 million, most of which will be paid for with money raised through bonds.

Tulare County Supervisor Amy Shuklin said despite the failure of initial discussions, she's hopeful for a future collaboration between the city and county. 

"It's too bad that for whatever reason it fell through," she said. "But it doesn't mean something might not happen in the future." 

Mestas said state-of-the-art efficiency is what she hoped to bring to Visalia when urging city leaders to proceed.

She called Wednesday's opening a "proud day" for the city. 

The City of Visalia held an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony for its new Emergency Communications Center on Wednesday, September 20, 2017.

New home for all

In 2016, dispatchers fielded 167,573 calls for service in the basement of Visalia Police Department headquarters on Johnson Street. In December, dispatchers will officially move from the basement, where they have been located for more than two decades. 

In addition to dispatch and fire administration, the center also houses the Emergency Operations Center. If a natural disaster or emergency occurs in the city, the center will be used to organize first responders. 

"Welcome to our new home for fire administration," Fire Chief Doug McBee said. "What happens here is pretty remarkable." 

The center was built to withstand floods, earthquakes, power outages and has the highest seismic rating available, McBee said. 

VECC is just one part of Visalia Civic Center near downtown Visalia. The plan is to build a new city hall, a new public safety headquarters building and a separate police evidence storage facility. 

As such, the rest of the buildings are several years away from development.

Visalia Police Chief Jason Salazar watches as the walls of VECC were erected in August 2016.