Any delay past July 5 in moving to the building purchased for 911 Dispatch Center operations could be costly, Geoffrey Greetham, director, said Wednesday.

The reason is a contract signed in 2004 on the center’s computer-aided dispatch system, or CAD, expires in August. After that, a new contract may increase the cost by $160,000.

&#8220Basically, we negotiated prices for the CAD at the 2004 price list,” he said later. &#8220If the contract we have with the vendor expires, then they are no longer obligated to provide us the product at the 2004 price. They can renegotiate the contract at the 2007 price.”

The CAD was purchased for about $440,000 from BellSouth in 2004, Greetham said.

Last July, the Warren County Board of Supervisors awarded a bid to Grenada-based Jones-Zander, Ltd., to draft a plan to renovate the former Southern Printing building purchased from the City of Vicksburg in March for $230,000.

But the structure required upgrades to its electrical system and removal of decaying carpet, and ceiling and floor tiles filled with asbestos. Supervisors, Greetham and members of the 911 Commission have also debated to what extent the building should be renovated to accommodate personnel and equipment.

Greetham said Wednesday the project remains in supervisors’ hands, but urged commission members to set a deadline.

&#8220We need to have the building available by July 5 so we can start moving the stuff in,” he said. &#8220But it’s in their ballpark. The county chose to retain control of this project rather than turn it over to the commission.”

District 4 Supervisor Carl Flanders said he doesn’t believe the needed work can be accomplished in time.

&#8220It’s realistic to believe the timetable is going to be measured in months and not in weeks,” he said. &#8220My feeling is it’s going to be late summer or fall and not in the next month or two.”

Dispatch personnel are now in a small, leaky basement space under the front steps of the Warren County Courthouse. Greetham, Deputy Director Mike Gaul and the center’s secretary, Cari Anderson, share a single office.

&#8220It’s to everyone’s advantage to expedite their move,” Flanders said. &#8220I know we have a couple of equipment needs we’re working on. We’re going as quickly as we can. We want to be in there more than anything.”

The next step, Flanders said, is for supervisors to approve a final rendering of the Clay Street building from the architect.

&#8220We’ve had to wrangle with reconfiguration,” he said. &#8220But we settled with the architect last Thursday about what it’s going to look like.”

The architect, Robert Zander, confirmed he’s working on the final drawing. He did not say what changes are pending.

The chairman of the 911 Commission, Vicksburg Fire Department Chief Keith Rogers, said the process &#8220doesn’t add up.”

&#8220I think there are some discrepancies in the (building design),” he said. &#8220I’m kind of confused on it. If something changes, it looks like it’s going to cause more delays. There’s no question it’s a time-sensitive matter.”

One design presented by Greetham to commissioners Wednesday showed dispatchers will use a room about 25 feet wide and 25 feet long, adjoined by a deputy director’s office and a visitors’ area. It also shows specifications for electronic gates, a training room, an equipment room, offices for center management and a break room on the bottom floor of the 5,000-square-foot building.

The center was authorized in a 1989 referendum to use the best available technology and trained personnel to receive emergency calls and dispatch aid. It is paid for through phone line surcharges and city and county general fund subsidies.

For years, the budget was about $800,000 per year, but it was increased to $1.8 million and a general property tax increase funded almost all-new equipment. For this year, the budget is back down to $1.2 million.

The Clay Street building is also to provide storage space for electronic voting machines acquired by the county in 2006.

Pending in the Legislature is a request by local officials to increase the per-line cap on fees from $1 to as much as $3 per month.