BY KAREN E. BOWES
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Sheriff Joseph W. Oxley (at lectern) reviews proposed plans for a new county communications center. Also shown (l-r) are Senior Public Safety Telecommunicator John Cuccia and Emergency Management Coordinator Harry Conover. FREEHOLD - From 1936 to 1950, the county's first Office of Emergency Management (OEM) operated out of a closet in the Hall of Records.

Once again, the OEM has outgrown its surroundings.

On Aug. 4, plans were unveiled for the office's next major move, from its current headquarters at the police academy on Kozloski Road, to a new state-of-the-art Monmouth County Emergency Communications Center to be built directly behind the academy. The session was held in a classroom at the academy.

Once completed, the complex would be shared with county 911 dispatchers, serving 44 of the county's 53 municipalities. In addition, some towns would also have access to fire, ambulance and police dispatch services. Matawan was listed as participating in all three.

Sheriff Joseph Oxley and Undersheriff Ted Freeman co-hosted the session, which featured blueprints of the proposed complex. The estimated cost was not discussed.

Estimated savings to participating towns range from $60,000 to $80,000 a year, depending on the size of the town and the number of 911 calls typically made, according to the sheriff's office.

One of the many speakers was Freeholder Director Bill Barham, who received a round of applause for his remarks, saying the new complex "is at the top of my list."

With an estimated 88,000 people anticipated to be moving to Monmouth County in the next 15 years, Barham said the county needs to think ahead.

"As elected government officials, our primary task is to protect life and property," Barham said to the room of mostly police officers.

He added, "If I do my job and you do your job, everything works out perfect."

Since 9/11, the county's OEM has taken on an ever increasing amount of work. Originally, the department dealt only with natural disasters. Although still in charge of handling weather-related emergencies, preparing for terrorist attacks is now the office's primary responsibility.

Harry Conover is the coordinator for the Monmouth County OEM. He joined the department in 1988. At that time, he was one of only two people on staff.

In terms of today's world climate, the current OEM is "really not up to snuff," Conover said.

"The facility we have now is not able to handle a major disaster," Conover said.

He added, "How will we operate government when everything fails?"

If the county were attacked today and all lines of communication were destroyed, there are only two "field coms," or mobile communication systems, presently available, according to Conover. One of those devices would be used by police officers while the other would be used by the OEM.

"Shared services" quickly became buzz words at the gathering, with speakers referencing the idea as a good way to cut costs while creating better services.

John Rasimowicsz, of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, talked about the importance of shared services, noting that Gov. Jon Corzine "mentions them almost daily."

Besides his belief that they will ultimately lower costs and property taxes, the state worker said that shared services are "plain and simple, a common-sense approach to providing services."

Rasimowicsz gave a brief overview of available state grants for towns interested in pursuing shared services.

And because of Corzine's pronounced interest in improving shared services, "Resources for us are not a problem at this point," Rasimowicsz said.

Because of the potential benefits and importance of the project, Oxley offered to visit any municipality in the county interested in learning more about the concept.

"Failing to plan is planning to fail," Oxley said.