Only two weeks away from taking its first emergency call, the consolidated 911 dispatch center in Kalamazoo County was unveiled Thursday to a crowd of emergency personnel and community leaders.
Four years after it was created and nearly 30 years after the idea was first considered, the Kalamazoo County Consolidated Dispatch Authority (KCCDA) will go live on Oct. 30.
The 911 dispatch consolidation includes the City of Kalamazoo, the City of Portage, the County of Kalamazoo, the Charter Township of Kalamazoo, and Western Michigan University. Jeff Troyer, the dispatch authority's first executive director, welcomed community members and city leaders Thursday, Oct. 18, among a sea of badges and uniforms representing emergency personnel from area townships, Kalamazoo, Portage and Michigan State Police.
"This is the greatest governmental collaboration in Kalamazoo County's history," Troyer said.