Brazos County commissioners awarded a $10 million contract to renovate the county’s future 911 dispatch center on Oct. 20.
About the project
The county bought the building at 2504 Kent St. in 2024 to eventually relocate its emergency dispatch operations. Renovation of the building to get it up to spec for the county’s 911 team is expected to be completed by 2028, according to agenda documents. Commissioners awarded the contract to the construction firm SpawGlass.
The new facility will have more space, secure parking and a more reliable location overall, according to county documents. The 911 district has been at its current building since 1988 and now has around 36 dispatchers on staff.
Also of note
The Brazos County District Attorney’s office is getting new software to evaluate digital evidence and process cases faster.
Commissioners approved a 116-month $485,000 contract to purchase software from Axon Enterprise Inc. to “address the growing disparity between available staff resources and the volume of digital evidence staff must review and manage for the County Attorney’s Office,” according to a staff report.
Software Justice Premier creates a centralized evidence management system to review and share any recordings related to investigations or incidents from body-worn cameras, surveillance cameras, smartphones and interviews, according to Axon’s website.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Bentley Nettles said the software will help shorten the amount of time staff have to spend reviewing evidence for cases.
“If you ever spent hours looking at all the videos now available with a case, it is a mind-numbing task,” Nettles said. “So, I applaud you in giving some time back to your staff and hopefully move those cases through a little quicker.”
Before you go
The county approved a $298,000 contract for its voter registration and elections management system with VR Systems Inc. The system helps county staff maintain voter records and process and fulfill ballot-by-mail requests, according to a staff report.
Early voting is now underway through Oct. 30 and Election Day is Nov. 3.
