Contract OK’d for Mercer 911 enhancement

Commissioners approved bids for the new district justice office.

By MARY GRZEBIENIAK

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

MERCER, Pa. — A $1.29 million contract will bring Mercer County’s E-911 system one step closer to being able to identify the location of cell phone calls.

Commissioners approved the contact Thursday with Intergraph Corp., Madison, Ala., to install computer-aided dispatch capabilities in the local emergency call center.

Frank Jannetti, public safety director, said the county is still about a year away from being able to locate cell phone calls, but this contract is the third phase of the four-phase project aimed at that end. It will be paid for by grant money obtained from a statewide pool created with funds charged to cell phone customers.

He said that Intergraph did not submit the lowest bid, but it had everything the county wanted. The company is a nationally recognized leader in the field of computer-aided dispatch, Jannetti added.

Commissioners also awarded bids for construction of the new District Justice building in Pine Township, which will be located on Pa. Route 208.

Bid awards went to Wallace Builders, Pulaski, $772,800 for general construction; D&G Mechanical Inc., West Middlesex, $88,145 for heating and air conditioning; D.J. Hannon & Sons, Inc., New Castle, $108,580 for plumbing; and Houston Electric, New Castle, $117,610 for electrical construction.

Work is to start immediately with completion hoped for by mid-June 2008 on the $1.1 million project.

Grant application

They also agreed to sponsor a $170,100 grant application for improvements at Munnell Run Farm.

Jim Mondok, director of the Mercer County Conservation District, said he applied May 30 for a grant, which was approved. But the state informed him this week that no funding was left.

State officials, however, said the application is likely to be funded if commissioners apply for the same project through municipal Growing Greener II funds which are available to nonprofit groups.

Mondok said the total $344,200 project would include construction of restrooms, improvements to a 900-foot access road and construction of a new access road from Pa. Route 58, replacement of a culvert, landscaping and moving the historic Bigler House from Reynolds to the Munnell Farm.

Bigler House was built in 1844 by John and William Bigler who served as governors of California and Pennsylvania, respectively, from 1850 to 1854. There is no cost to the county to apply for the grant. The local share will be come from contributions from various groups as well as donated labor.