A rendering of the 37,426-square-foot Regional Operations and Communications Facility, which will be built next to the Lake County Central Permit Facility, in Libertyville.

Lake County reported that after years of planning and research, Regional 9-1-1 Consolidation Partners and the Lake County Board recently joined together to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Regional Operations and Communications Facility.

The 37,426-square-foot facility will be built next to the Lake County Central Permit Facility, in Libertyville. The ROC Facility is designed to house a consolidated Public Safety Answering Points  and the county’s Emergency Management Agency, as well as support staff and technologies. The intent is to bring together highly trained experts and state-of-the-art technology to coordinate resources, information, and communications and management all under one roof.

“The ROC Facility is a critically important infrastructure project that will enable our first responders — law enforcement, fire, EMS and dispatch — to respond more quickly to emergency events across Lake County and the region,” said Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart. “The ROC Facility will be a model of excellence and will bring greater coordination and collaboration between the vital agencies who are dedicated to serving our Lake County residents.”

The county stated that there are 85,000 emergency calls — on average — every year in Lake County, with 7,000 of those calls requiring mutual aid from surrounding agencies. Every time a call is transferred, valuable minutes can be lost, leading to emergency response delays.

“When responding to a public safety emergency, minutes matter,” said Greater Round Lake Fire Protection Chief Greg Formica. “This new facility will bring the necessary resources to the right place in the shortest amount of time, providing for the best possible outcome. In the end, this can be lifesaving.”

The county’s report also emphasized that it is critical to have a coordinated effort among community partners in response to emergency events, whether local or regional, and that participating agencies will soon have an unprecedented opportunity for seamless information sharing and collaboration between first responders within the new ROC Facility.

“The Lake County Emergency Telephone System Board has always supported the concept of consolidating ETSB, 9-1-1 and LCEMA into one facility,” said Lake Zurich Police Chief and Lake County ETSB Chair Steve Husak. “Because these independent entities will share one space, there will be collaboration among dispatch, law enforcement, fire, EMS and other first responders. This will lead to a more effective public safety response for the participating partners and the communities they serve.”

Added Lake County Emergency Manager Dan Eder, “Because Lake County Emergency Management and the Emergency Operations Center will be in the same building as the consolidated 9-1-1 and ETSB, we will have increased insight into information and data that will enhance coordination, support and response actions across the county during disasters and other emergency events.”

Financial assistance for the project includes a $1 million Emergency Operations Center Grant, $2 million from the Illinois Clean Energy Committee Foundation Grant, a $5 million Lake County ETSB commitment, a $30 million Lake County General Obligation Bond (approved by the Lake County Board), and additional monies contributed via Lake County’s Capital Improvement Program and the American Rescue Plan Act.

Lake County anticipates that construction of the ROC Facility will be completed by December 2024. The building is scheduled to open in 2025.