Akron.com

Lakemore changes police dispatching contract



LAKEMORE — Lakemore Village Council approved a police, fire and EMS dispatching agreement with the South Summit Council of Governments (SSCOG) Jan. 17 that is expected to save the village an estimated $8,000 annually, according to Fiscal Officer Megan Pitman.
Administrator Tracy Sayers explained that SSCOG provides dispatching service for the Fire Department and the new five-year contract, effective Jan. 1, adds dispatching service for the Police Department.
Sayers said police dispatching is currently done through the Summit County Sheriff’s Office at a cost of $45,000 per year. The combined police and fire dispatching contract with SSCOG will cost $65,999 in 2023 with annual incremental increases topping out at $74,280 in 2027, for a total of $350,399 over the five years.
SSCOG was created in November 2020 as an emergency dispatch center for Green Fire and New Franklin Police departments. The new center, located at Green Fire Station 1, began operations in May 2021 as the South Summit Dispatch Center and also dispatches fire and EMS for Lakemore, Clinton and Coventry under a special contract.
Also at the Jan. 17 meeting, Council approved:
• $44,936 in bills and $2.3 million in purchase orders, includes the annual $1 million to the City of Akron for sewer treatment service and other annual expenses;
• a $127,000 contract with Hammontree and Associates Inc. for engineering services and utility improvements on Fairdale and Michaels drives;
• a contract with K&S Operations to provide a Class 1 Water Operator at a cost of $170 per week. Sayers said this temporary contract is necessary until the village’s own Class 1 Water Operator completes required certification;
• the mayoral appointments of Council members Anne Snyder and Laura Cochran, retired Fire Chief Clarence Bittner and two members of the Lakemore Fire Department to the Volunteer Firefighters’ Dependents’ Fund Board for 2023;
• participation in the Community University Education Purchasing Council of Governments for the purchase of road salt;
• applications for grants including a Bluecoats Regional Training Grant for police and fire training equipment, an Assistance to Firefighters Regional Radio Communications Grant for upgraded radio equipment, and a $10,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant for a waterline leak detector with no required local match;
• an amendment to the village policy manual to remove full-time police officers from a night shift differential bonus and offering the bonus to part-time night shift officers only; and
• a proclamation recognizing Jan. 23-29 as School Choice Week in the village.
Lakemore Council next meets Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. in the community room at the Springfield High School and Junior High, 1880 Canton Road. The meeting may also be viewed on Spectrum Cable box channel 1023 and the village’s YouTube channel.