December 03, 2019
Tuesday PM

State Plans to Relocate Ketchikan Trooper Dispatch Employees to Anchorage - Alaska DPS (SB 142) Deputy Commissioner and Mayor Rodney Dial open discussions on “unifying regional emergency dispatch services to enhance 911 services across the state for cost savings of $3.5 million combining with Soldotna and Wasilla from center in Anchorage... why not move Wasilla and Soldotna 911 services to Ketchikan? 

State Senators Ortiz and Stedman to seek alternatives to ensure services will not be diminished? I trust Mayor Dial will do the right thing but my first reaction is how comfortable would Juneau or Anchorage be depending on a dispatcher for an emergency call from Ketchikan who has little knowledge of your streets, logging roads, waterways and more remote non-city located citizens.

If we are out at Bostwick Lake and have an emergency or even closer to home do we feel comfortable with a dispatcher using auto-maps to send fire trucks - ambulance - Troopers to a life threatening situation? I would rather depend on a clear mind familiar with these islands and rarely traveled or unmaintained trails and beaches where citizens might be in need of quick understanding and knowledge.

Mayor Dial will do the right thing as he is more interested in safety and yet does have the best grasp of the problems that might end in tragedy - transferring the entirety of dispatch responsibilities to Anchorage leaves me uneasy wondering if this plan is all about money... saving money is good - or a roll of the dice on safety? You want to save money... consider putting on your thinking caps and ending government waste aka “budget lapsing organizations.”

Ken Bylund
North Point Higgins, Alaska 

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Received December 02, 2019 - Published December 03, 2019

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