Clinton County to Dedicate New DES Facility
Public Invited for Grand Opening and Facility Tours
FLEMINGTON – Clinton County’s new Department of Emergency Services (DES) facility – at the former Flemington Elementary School – will be dedicated on Friday, June 6. The Clinton County Board of Commissioners and DES organization invite the public to participate in the official dedication and open house, which will include tours of the new facility at 311 Frederick Street, Flemington.
“We are very proud of the new facility and encourage people to come out and take a look,” says DES director Kevin Fanning. “This operation is important to every resident of Clinton County, so please make time to stop in and learn more about what goes on here and the major improvements Clinton County has made to this operation.”
Fanning says the dedication ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. on June 6. Immediately after the dedication, people will be able to tour the new operation and the tours will run through 8 p.m. that evening, allowing the public plenty of time to see the new facility.
Clinton County Commissioners Jeff Snyder, Pete Smeltz and Joel Long, along with Fanning, will lead the 11:00 a.m. dedication. U.S. Congressman Glenn Thompson is also slated to make remarks, as is Peter Folen, representing The EADS Group, architect for the $2.5 million DES project.
Clinton County’s Department of Emergency Services is comprised of three entities: the 9-1-1 Call Center (Communications Center), the Emergency Management Agency, and the Chemical Safety and Planning organization.
Until late last year, the Department had been housed in very small, outdated quarters in the basement of the Susque-View Home on Cree Drive. The move to the former Flemington Elementary School began in 2012 when the County purchased the facility from Keystone Central School District for one dollar. Full renovation of the building took place during 2013 and the move to the much larger facility was completed by year-end.
The new facility also houses the Clinton County Office of Veterans Affairs, and Keystone Central maintains the District’s tax office in a portion of the older section of the building.
In addition to major renovations to the facility itself, Fanning says technology enhancements have been made to the 9-1-1 Call Center. Visitors to the open house will be able to learn about the history of 9-1-1 service in Clinton County, tour the new 9-1-1 operations and see a demonstration of what happens there and how emergency calls are handled. The open house will also feature a presentation on emergency management and the importance of emergency preparedness in dealing with disaster situations.
No reservations are needed to attend the dedication and open house, and the public is encouraged to participate.
