911 system 'buggy'

The Saratoga Town Council met briefly for its second meeting of the month Tuesday, and board members were filled in on goings-on around town and in different departments.

Council members Richard Raymer and Will Faust, along with mayor Ed Glode, voted to hire a new part-time 911 dispatcher, and were filled in on the town’s new 911 system and the status of a project to install cameras at Shively field. The board also held the first reading of a Planned Unit Development ordinance.

According to Robert Bifano, chief of the Saratoga Police Department, the towns’ new 911 system is up and operating, albeit with “bugs” as Bifano characterized them.

The system, he said, was experiencing some problems due to the fact the department’s existing phone system is analog, and the new 911 system is digital.

According to Bifano, the 911 lines are working as expected, but there have been issues transferring calls routed to the department’s non-emergency line.

The company that installed the 911 system has been contacted, and they are working on a fix for the issues, Bifano said.

Bifano also asked the council to grant approval to hire a new part-time dispatcher. The hire became necessary after one dispatcher left and another partitimer was moved up to full time, meaning a new part-time dispatcher was needed, he said.

Bifano said the new hire was already certified as a dispatcher and would be ready to get to work right away.

The council voted unanimously to approve the hire.

The council also heard about a project to install cameras at Shively Field. The project was originally expected to cost about $81,000 to complete, but after negotiations with the only company to submit a bid for the project, the cost was reduced to $50,000, according to Raymer, who represents the council on the airport board.

Raymer requested the council move to approve the bid, which it did.

Finishing off the meeting, the council held the first of three readings for the proposed Planned Unit Development ordinance.

The ordinance, if passed, would allow the town flexibility in approving development projects without necessarily sticking to existing zoning ordinances. Under the PUD, the town would be able to approve projects regardless of zoning as long as they were within the spirit of the town’s master plan.

Glode read aloud portions of the proposed ordinance during the council meeting. There was no discussion on the matter, and no public comment was made.

The board will have a second reading of the ordinance at its next meeting Oct. 3, and a third and final reading Oct. 17. After the third reading, the board will be able to vote whether to accept the ordinance or not.

The next scheduled meeting of the Saratoga Town Council is 6 p.m. Oct. 3 at Saratoga Town Hall.