3-City Police Dispatch Center Plan Advances

Seal Beach officials Friday approved plans for a consolidated police dispatch center that would include Los Alamitos and Cypress.

The center, which would link the three cities to a new countywide emergency radio system, already has won approval from city leaders in Cypress. The Los Alamitos City Council is expected to approve it Monday.

The center is projected to save the three cities money because it will consolidate services that cost them more to operate individually.

Known as West-Comm, the 1,070-square-foot communications center would be at the Seal Beach Police Department and cost about $122,000 to build. The three cities would share design and construction costs, as well as equipment charges.

Police operations and patrols would remain autonomous.

The three cities conducted a feasibility study in 1993 to examine the possibility of consolidating police dispatch systems, but the cost at the time would have outweighed the potential savings, Seal Beach Police Chief William Stearns said.

When the county announced its plans to launch its “800-MHZ” system next fall, Seal Beach officials learned that their city’s share of the tab to join would be nearly $1 million. Cypress and Los Alamitos would each have paid about the same amount.

By merging their dispatch systems, all three cities will save, with Cypress putting in about $886,000; Seal Beach, $631,000; and Los Alamitos, $496,000.

“West-Comm will provide the benefits of hardware savings, better service to the communities and increased officer safety,” Stearns said.

Dispatchers now serve about 87,000 residents in the three cities, which total about 25 square miles. Cypress accounts for 45% of the calls; Seal Beach, 30%; and Los Alamitos, 25%.

Los Alamitos officials will discuss the issue at a 7 p.m. City Council meeting Monday at City Hall, 3191 Katella Ave. Information: (310) 431-3538.