The Nowata County Commissioners held a lengthy discussion over E911 services at a Monday morning meeting.

Lance Terry from the state 911 authority as well as members from the Mission Critical Partners were on hand to lead the informational discussion. Terry gave several options on how to go about enacting E911 services. Terry lays out the process.

The county has the option share servers with a neighboring county but answer its own calls, keep the entire operation in the county or let a neighboring county handle all dispatching.

Terry says all three neighboring counties in Oklahoma—Rogers, Craig and Washington—all have strong 911 infrastructures. Using Coffeyville, Kansas as a partner was also discussed for the northern part of the county.

With every option it will be imperative to go over the technological requirements, the governance and how all parts will be funded. Terry says no matter what option the county goes for these things will need to be considered.

Also approved in the meeting was the purchase of a new radio repeater to be used by the city police and the sheriff’s department. Both entities had previously been operating with South Coffeyville’s equipment simultaneously, which led to numerous issues.

The commissioners will meet again next Monday.