BY PAUL MITCHELL

North Country This Week

CANTON – A major renovation of the St. Lawrence County Public Safety Complex in Court Street may shut down a section of Pearl Street for 9 to 12 months.

Mayor Michael Dalton delivered a brief update on the project to board members at its monthly meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

The project is slated to begin in 2024.

In a letter to the mayor from County Administrator Ruth Doyle, the county has initiated the solicitation of bids and as the county looks toward the potential award of bids in the upcoming weeks, the county is looking carefully at the challenges with the “displacement of parking and construction equipment associated with the project.”

County legislators approved soliciting bids for the project during a full board meeting on Aug. 7 of this year.

Though a final budget has not been announced, officials have allocated $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for the project from the 2021 award.

The public safety complex was the first to be deemed ready for construction, county officials said at the time.

The acting architect on the project will be Beardsley Design & Associates, working on behalf of the county to conduct the necessary activities for the bid process.

Joe Prashaw, the buildings and grounds supervisor assigned to the county administrator’s office, will be assigned to represent the county as the owner’s representative and clerk of the works.

Work began with the Buildings and Grounds Committee assembling the departments, at which time they brought in a firm to design the space.

St. Lawrence County renovated the building at 49 1/2 Court Street in 1994 but officials say long overdue upgrades will need to be completed next year.

As part of the renovations, the building was changed from an emergency bunker to a public safety complex that included a new administrative office space for economic development, as well as the One-Stop Career Center, a location for law enforcement and public safety answering point for 911 calls.

The building is currently occupied by the Sheriff’s Office road patrol and civil enforcement divisions, Emergency Services (PSAP), Planning and Conflict Defender, along with New York State Police, who lease space on the first floor.

Dalton said village officials will be sitting down with county officials to discuss the pending project. He said the village will keep the neighboring property owners updated.

“With a cooperative effort, I think we can come up with a good plan that meets everyone’s needs,” the mayor stated. “The big thing is that we’re talking.”

The project includes a Public Safety Answering Point (911 Center) for the County with expanded workstations and upgraded technology, a new Emergency Services Suite, a District Attorney's Office and Grand Jury Suite, a new location for the Civil Office of the Sheriff's Office, and a new suite for the Detectives of the Sheriff's Office.

The County will also look to address the safety of the tower, landscaping, and the grade of the building on the side facing Court Street. Both of these issues will be addressed as a part of the project, the letter states.

The County is encouraged to have funding appropriated through the ARPA funds for capital investment to support this project without the need to issue debt, Doyle wrote.

Village and county officials will discuss the possibility of restricting access on Pearl Street from the driveway of the Public Safety Complex to the intersection of Pearl and Court Street during the duration of the project.

The project is expected to take 9 to 12 months to complete.

Prashaw has been communicating with the Village Highway Superintendent Tim Bacon about this issue. The mayor said he would like to include Canton Police Chief James Santimaw and Canton Fire Chief Robert Crowe in the discussion. He said snow removal must also be addressed.

At the county level, legislators recently approved signing a contract with Intrado Life & Safety Solutions Corporation for systems equipment and software for the backup 911 center.

Intrado Life & Safety Solutions Corporation offers equipment and software which facilitates answering 911 calls and answering administrative lines remotely in the event of a system failure, according to county officials.

Cost for the equipment will be $35,981 for one year, which includes equipment, installation and first-year maintenance.

Maintenance for years two through seven come at a cost of $1,090, $1,101, $1,1113, $1,126, $1,138 and $1,151. The first year can be paid for with New York State Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) grant funding, officials say.

Legislators also approved a contract with Intrado Life & Safety Solutions Corporation for professional services to relocate, install and program phone services in the new dispatch center.

That contract will come at a cost of $15,802 to the county, officials say.

County officials say the contract will allow the county to create and maintain a redundancy system for the 911 call center as Emergency Services undergoes the planned renovation to the dispatch center in Canton.

Those upgrades will include technology and service upgrades at both the primary center in Canton and backup center in Massena.

County officials say during the renovations dispatchers will be required to dispatch from the backup center in Massena while the primary location in Canton is taken offline to complete work.

That temporary switch could result in having no backup 911 center during the renovation period, creating a need for a redundant system to ensure "adequate and continued services for answering and dispatching 911 calls in the event of a system failure," according to county officials.

Once the renovations are complete, the upgrades to the radio system will increase the volume in the center with an additional two desks and capacity for two more in the future.

Emergency Services Director Matt Denner said the new and more modern equipment will create an increased ability to respond to emergency situations.

In 2021, District Attorney Gary Pasqua had also shown interest in sharing the space in the public safety complex as well, according to county officials.

Officials say adequate office space, updating the PSAP, creating an official Emergency Operations Center adjacent to the department and providing secure access points were the primary initiatives.

According to officials, the hope is that the project will “assimilate law enforcement and the District Attorney’s Office in one location and make dramatic improvements to the PSAP (911 Center) to increase capacity and improve service.”