“It was a huge project. I think we all had an assumption that it wasn’t going to be this busy, that it wasn’t going to take this much technology. We actually learned about the kinds of technology that goes into a center. There were a lot of things we had to shift on the fly,” Klug said. “The old center had been built and held together for 50 years and you patch it together as you go.”

Klug said the process of winding down the former and ramping up the new dispatch center will involve some brief overlap beginning on Tuesday. The full complement of 17 dispatchers will be fully activated during the transition, working in 12 hour-flex shifts once everything is fully operational.

Each dispatcher workstation has been tricked out with fully adjustable and customizable desks, lighting and air conditioning options. Each dispatcher’s personalized settings are saved between shifts, with the workstation switching on the fly once they log in. Each workstation will come with three sets of keyboards and mice and even foot pedals to perform certain actions between different platforms in their suite.

“It’s all very intentional. When we first looked at implementing the TV screens and everything, a lot of centers bring in outside vendors to do that, and it’s really expensive. So we told our IT what the concept was and they did it at a fraction of the cost. They did an outstanding job with the work that they’ve done,” Klug said.

Dispatcher workstations were flashing green in the new Central Dispatch Center, which Police Chief John Klug says will be fully staffed once it’s up and running.

An example of this ingenuity cited by Klug is a corner of the center devoted to a massive display that plays calming and relaxing videos of nature on a loop, which can be a welcome sight to dispatchers during their long shifts in rooms with few to no windows.

Between the workstations is a wall of screens and displays, showing real-time security camera footage from the police department and City Hall, along with active call information and breaking news feeds. Klug said the new space is a huge improvement over the current dispatch center, with a wide open circular floor plan that gives every team member a full view of the rest of the room. Dispatchers are able to quickly track the status of other team members, with their availability signaled by a red or green light.

Since dispatchers work 12-hour shifts, the new facility includes a variety of amenities and support facilities. These include showers, a full service kitchen and a decompression room that comes equipped with a zen garden and a comfortable chair for dispatchers to compose themselves after particularly stressful calls.

Klug said that not only is the new layout more secure, it makes it easier for the dispatcher’s family members to visit during their long shifts.

“If they really wanted to, they could make a Thanksgiving Dinner, and then their family comes over. They can stay in that room and stay off the floor, unlike our other one – you had to go onto the floor to get there,” Klug said.

An array of monitors covers a wall of the new Central Dispatch Center within City Hall in Minot, which will be fully operational early next week.