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Inside a State-of-the-Art County Operations Center

Report: Like something from a movie, a new $12.5 million operations center is planned for Macomb County, Mich.

When people think of local government, they don't usually imagine a NASA-style control room buzzing with with people wearing suits and heatsets. But in Macomb County, Mich., that fantasy may soon become more fact than fiction.

The county has a $12.5 million plan to consolidate resources and build a high-ceiling operations center complete with work stations and an 18- by 45-foot wall of video monitors displaying a Doppler radar map and video feeds of nearby infrastructure. The sheriff’s dispatch, road department traffic operations, IT data center and the emergency management and communications department will all work under one roof sharing the technology.

“The money already exists. We’re bringing it together to build something beyond anyone’s imagination,” County Executive Mark Hackel said, reported Detroit Free Press.

The center is scheduled to begin renovation in a 25,000 sq. ft. space at the road department in Mt. Clemens in October. The building is designed to accommodate 70 employees, with room for growth. The facility will have eight traffic monitoring positions, 24 dispatch positions, a computer lab and training room, and conference rooms.

The project will be funded by the Federal Highway Administration, federal grant programs, Michigan's Economic Vitality Incentive Program, and other sources. Bids for the project are expected to begin in late August or early September this year.

Renderings of the Macomb County Operations Center are available along with more detailed funding information.


Photo: A rendering of a planned $12.5 million operations center in Macomb County, Mich.