County of San Luis Obispo Public Safety Communications Center
The County of San Luis Obispo is in the process of delivery of a new Public Safety Communications Center for operation by County Sheriff and County/Cal-Fire staff. The new facility will be located adjacent to the existing Sheriff sub-station off Main Street in Templeton and will play an important role in the County’s ongoing ability to provide emergency services to the region. When complete, the new facility will replace two antiquated and overcrowded dispatch centers with an efficient, state-of-the- art facility that will be able to meet Cal Fire/SLO County and Sheriff Dispatch's growing and emergency service response needs into the future.
Figure 1 below shows a conceptual layout of the Public Safety Communications Center Site Plan.
Live View of Current Construction
Figure 1: Conceptual Site Plan (click to enlarge)
Figure 2: Proposed view of the facility from the street
Key Project Features and Benefits
- Faster and better coordinated 911 and emergency response for a safer community
- Better able to manage and communicate with emergency personnel during major fire events, earthquakes, flooding or other natural disasters
- Co-locating dispatching services saves on operational and maintenance costs in lieu of two separate 24-hour facilities for Fire and Law Enforcement
- Ability to add dispatching capacity and staff as service levels grow
Project Background
The Public Safety Communications Center is the second Design-Build project at the County Operations Center approved by the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors. Design-Build will allow a single contract to be awarded for the design, engineering, permitting and construction of the project with a goal of providing the best value for the County.
Currently operations for Cal Fire and the Sheriff dispatching are housed in separate geographical locations. Both existing facilities do not meet basic standards for housing 10-hour duty shifts nor do they meet current Compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) workspace functions. The project is a 24-hour operational facility. The facility will be built to California Essential Services requirements and will require secure access.
The planned facility will have a high level of technical integration and communications technology. The project is a joint coordinated effort managed by SLO County Public Works with involvement by Sheriff’s Office, San Luis Obispo County Fire/CAL FIRE, County IT and Communications, Office of Emergency Services and Administration.
Project Update
Construction Schedule
- Design-Build Notice to Proceed: 9/21/22
- Design Commencement: 9/21/22
- Construction Commencement: 8/3/23
- Original Contract Completion: 11/28/24
- Time Extension(s) Awarded: 0 Days
- Revised Contract Completion: 8/16/25
- Pending Time Extension: 263 Days
- D-BE Forecast Substantial Completion: 7/17/25
- D-BE Forecast Final Completion: 8/16/25
Upcoming Work
- VersaTube concrete slab placement
- Concrete placement for raised floor on 2nd level
- Interior metal framing installation
- Truss layout and installation
Construction Photos
2nd level concrete placement
Aerial view of final phase of roof concrete placement
Exterior metal framing installation
Ongoing ductwork installation
Contract Award and Design Development
The project received approval at the Board Agenda on August 23rd, 2022 to augment and provide financing for completion of the project, award a contract to the top-ranked Design-Build Team, and adopt the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Project.
The County awarded a Design-Build Contract to Diani Building Corp. for the project. The County is working with Diani and IBI Group and their extended team of consultants to complete the design and permit packages. Construction is expected to commence in the Summer of 2023 and be complete towards the end of 2024. After installing the communications equipment, furniture, testing and cutover of 911 function, the facility will be ready for full dispatch and emergency services operations in the Spring of 2025.
CEQA
On September 8, 2020, the County completed an Initial Study and determined that an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) would be prepared to evaluate the potential for significant effects on aesthetics. The Initial Study (IS) and Notice of Preparation (NOP) of an EIR are available here. The 30-day comment period on the IS/NOP ended October 15, 2020.
The County prepared a Draft EIR that was published for a 45-day public comment period from August 26, 2021, to October 11, 2021. The Draft EIR is available here. Written comments on the Draft EIR have been addressed in the Final EIR available here.
The list of references in the Final EIR is available here.
The Board of Supervisors certified the FEIR on August 23, 2022. The Notice of Determination is here.
Project Contacts
For questions or additional information, please contact Rob Staniec via email or phone: (805) 781-5194.
