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DuBois County approves WTH mapping contract contingent on added terms to bring 9‑1‑1 data to current NextGen standard
Summary
The DuBois County Commissioners voted to approve a WTH proposal to update county 9‑1‑1 mapping to the newer NextGen standard, contingent on contract language added at the county's request. The work is grant‑funded and will bring address and elevation data into the statewide portal.
DuBois County commissioners on April 7 approved a contract proposal with WTH to update the county’s 9‑1‑1 mapping and data to a more recent NextGen standard, contingent on the county’s requested contract provisions being added to the vendor agreement.
The county’s 9‑1‑1 director, Stuart Wilson, told commissioners the project would be funded through grants administered by the state GIS office and would require no county tax dollars. “It keeps us at that next most current NextGen standard,” Wilson said, describing the work as a continuation of a 2019 grant project that raised county mapping to an earlier standard.
The vendor representative, Sean Scott of WTH, explained technical additions in the newer standard, including elevation data to help locate callers to a specific floor within a building. “Before this was created, the 9‑1‑1 call was tied to a phone line; now many calls come from mobile devices and GPS, and elevation is becoming part of the standard,” Scott said.
Wilson and Scott said the state will fund the work in stages (initial payment up front, further payments as milestones are met) and that the county has one year to complete the project once started. The county is already participating in a state portal and was identified as part of a pilot group for the updated standard.
County legal staff reviewed contract changes and the board authorized signing a copy contingent on the county’s required contract provisions being included. The motion to approve the WTH proposal with that contingency passed by voice vote.
Commissioners and staff said they expect the legal review and exchange of final provisions to occur quickly; the vendor and county representatives indicated the firm would deliver the finalized contract language within hours for the county to review.
Why it matters: WTH’s work updates addressing layers, improves call‑location accuracy and brings DuBois County into compliance with a 2022 NextGen mapping standard, which county officials said improves emergency response routing and reduces risk on 9‑1‑1 calls.
Next steps: County legal staff and the vendor will finalize contract revisions and sign a final agreement; grant paperwork will be submitted to the state GIS office for segmented funding disbursement.
