Construction moves forward on new Visalia Emergency Communications Center

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- As we enter the summer months, crews continue construction of the multi-million dollar Visalia Emergency Communications Center.

Visalia Police officials hope their public safety dispatchers can move in to the 18,000 square-foot facility sometime this fall.

Dispatchers currently call the public safety building's basement home.

"This will be a state of the art building, much more modern than we currently have," said Visalia Police Sgt. Damon Maurice. "It'll be a great workspace for anyone looking to change fields or become a dispatcher for our city."

Sgt. Maurice says the department is hoping to hire entry-level and experienced dispatchers, to fill some current vacancies.

Those candidates can expect to work in the new building, and the structure itself will have more space for additional dispatchers in the future.

'The city is growing, our calls for service are increasing every single year, there is a great demand for not only dispatchers, but qualified professional dispatchers," Sgt. Maurice said.

The VECC, as it's called, will also house Visalia Fire administration, a traffic management center, and a data center for information services.

Visalia City Councilmember Steve Nelsen says it's being paid for through a combination of Measure T money and a loan.

"So it's planned for the future," Nelsen said. "It's also our emergency command center, so God forbid in a situation of an emergency, we will all meet (there)."

Nelsen says the city has discussed paying off the loan on the VECC, before starting the next phase of a larger project. It's a project that may include a new civic center and public safety building. As well as open, green space for the public to enjoy.

"It's going to be a gathering place for the citizen of Visalia," Nelsen said. "And it'll be an office building, and we're not looking for any other thing than that. (It will) consolidate of all of our people who are spread all over the city of Visalia."

To apply for dispatch positions with Visalia Police, click here.