By Marie C. Baca



SANTA CLARA—The City Council awarded Motorola two six-figure contracts on Sept. 29 as part of a plan to relocate and update the city's emergency dispatch center. Motorola will receive $416,000 to furnish the new center with computer-aided dispatch servers and $626,000 to outfit the space with radio dispatch equipment.

The contracts were passed in a single motion as part of the consent calendar and were not discussed by either Council members or citizens at the meeting.

The agreement is one of the final steps in a five-year process to relocate the emergency dispatch center—the primary answering point for the 100-plus 911 calls the city receives daily—from a converted bomb shelter on Walsh Street. It is scheduled to move next to the police headquarters at 601 El Camino Real in early 2010, where it will occupy a new 5,500 square-foot annex that is currently under construction. 



"We’re getting new mapping technology, a new recording system, and a new phone system, just to name a few updates," said police Cpt. Diana Bishop, head of administrative services. “We’re going to be more efficient, and that’s undoubtedly better for public safety.”

Bishop described the city’s emergency response rates as “already pretty darn good,” although specific numbers were not available. She said that she believes that the new technology will significantly decrease the time it takes for the police and fire departments to respond to emergencies.

Principal city engineer Tom Supan said that the new center will certainly be a boon to the police department. It is less clear, however, as to whether the $3.5 million set aside for the physical structure alone might be better spent elsewhere as the city recovers from the recession.

“The money is coming from the Council’s general fund,” noted Supan. “The support for these types of projects are secured years in advance, but there are people out there asking, ‘Why this? Why now?’”

Motorola could not be reached for comment.

The old dispatch center—nicknamed “The Bunker”—was constructed in the 1970’s as a facility that could be used to house dozens of people underground in the event of a major disaster. Dispatchers took over the windowless building in 1984, and now field over 200 calls a day from their Cold War-era command center.

While the aesthetic similarities between the old center and the new are few, both were designed with disasters in mind. Supan said that the new center will be constructed in a way that will allow it to withstand an 8.0 earthquake.

“We paid bundles of money to make sure that the main police building would be operational after a major earthquake,” said Supan. “We have to do the same thing for the little building in front of it.”

The dispatchers had a variety of reactions to the thought of leaving “The Bunker” behind.

John Mills, communication operations manager, has worked at the Bunker for the past 25 years and said that he is completely comfortable with the space.

“I have mixed emotions about leaving,” said Mills. “This is where I work. The lack of light doesn’t bother me. I’m used to it.”

Other dispatchers expressed enthusiasm for abandoning their subterranean environment.

“With the shifts work in the winter, a lot of the times it‘s dark when we get here and it‘s dark when we get off,” said senior dispatcher Mike Clark. “So we‘re kind of looking forward to having windows and being able to see daylight outside.”

The Bunker’s inhabitants have found a variety of ways to enliven their monastic surroundings over the years: a television in the break room, music, and plenty of junk food.

“Some of us are healthier than others,” admits Lt. Paul Kofman. “Surprisingly there are very few coffee drinkers.”

Kofman deals with the darkness in his own way: by decorating his office with dozens of pictures of his family.

“It helps me maintain my sanity,” he said.