Brian Smith, executive director of the MetroWest Regional Communication Center, told the Town of Southborough Select Board on Oct. 21 that regionalization work for a new 9‑1‑1 center is progressing but that crucial technology funding and contracting remain to be completed.

“We are building the wreck to be a regional center and to absorb … more communities,” Smith said. “So far, the regionalization is going very well.”

Smith said schematic and design development for the planned center are complete, the architect is finishing construction documents, and the town is finalizing a contract with a new owner’s project manager (OPM) firm, Vertex. He described the building as suitable and welcomed by the project team but said construction has not yet started.

On funding, board members asked whether previously awarded 9‑1‑1 grants—$4 million in an earlier award and $8 million in a later award, according to Select Board remarks—cover full build‑out. Smith said the grant program funds work in tranches and that technology (computer‑aided dispatch, records management and other systems) has not yet been funded; MetroWest plans to apply in March for the next grant round (awarded in July) to fund most remaining technology costs.

Smith also updated the board on operations planning: MetroWest is finalizing vendors and technology architecture to support computer‑aided dispatch and records management systems for police and fire partners, and the RECC staff is planning for scalability so new towns can join later.

Select Board members pressed on timing and the town’s potential capital exposures. Smith said he does not anticipate the town needing to invest immediately in local dispatch equipment upgrades, but ongoing maintenance of the existing local systems will continue until the RECC is operational. The board also raised the “dark station” issue—technology for unattended lobbies— and Smith said the state 9‑1‑1 grant program now considers those systems eligible expenses and he plans to include them in the March application.

Smith said the center currently counts roughly 55,000 people across participating communities and that achieving economies of scale closer to 100,000 people would improve cost‑effectiveness. He said the RECC intends to expand to additional communities in the future, but none were on the verge of signing within a year.

Ending: The RECC project team is finalizing OPM contracting and construction documents, expects to seek another state 9‑1‑1 grant in March that would include major technology components, and will continue coordination with Southborough staff and police leadership.