Wagoner County commissioners designate Building 4 as official 911 facility; officials outline $2–3 million hardening plan

Wagoner County commissioners on May 20 designated Building 4 at the county emergency management complex as the county’s official 9‑1‑1 facility and heard a detailed presentation on a proposed hardened dispatch and IT center.

The vote followed a presentation from Mark Ketchum, the county 9‑1‑1 coordinator, who described plans to build a hardened, ICC‑500 standard structure inside the existing Emergency Management Building 4 to protect dispatch operations and county servers during severe weather and other incidents. Commissioners voted to designate Building 4 for the project by roll call (ayes recorded by the clerk).

Ketchum said the proposal would create a “self contained” dispatch and IT core able to withstand high‑end tornadoes and keep emergency communications functioning during extreme events. The conceptual design described a hardened dispatch room with modern consoles, redundant power and generator…