A representative from a Columbus technology

company proposed a more sophisticated method for tracking houses in cases of emergency at last Thursday's Lawrence County Commission meeting.

Brian Sovik, an implementation specialist from Digital Data Technologies, presented iView 911. In a county where this system is implemented, someone calling 911 will have his or her phone number sent to a computer and a location complete with a map will show up on the screen.

He added this is a higher degree of computer-aided 911 services because the location of the caller will be more precise.

For example, if a call comes in from a store in a mall or a trailer in a park, the location of the store or trailer will show up on the map, not the location of the entire mall or entire trailer park, Sovik said.

Although Sovik’s company does not provide it, but he said his software is compatible with Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL), which places sensors in police cars,

ambulances, school buses, and other government vehicles. Without the mapping system, the vehicles would only be a blip on a radar. The computer mapping software combined with AVL would show the location of a vehicle with a map.

However, implementing this system would cost Lawrence County $70 per mile and $1.55 per structure. Commission President Jason Stephens said the county doesn’t have the money to do this; however, he suggested utility companies would be interested in this technology and may share the cost.

Also, the commissioners received and filed a correspondence from the Ohio Public Works Commission, which approved financial assistance for a road paving project in the amount of $510,240.

David Lynd, county engineer, said the project will repair county roads 9,12,42, 65, 66,67, and 69, all located in Rome Township. Also, road work will be done in the city of Ironton, the village of Athalia, and Decatur, Lawrence, and Rome townships. The total amount of money being spent is $640,000, which is a combination of money from the county and from the townships receiving repairs.

Lynd said he expects construction to begin by the first week of August and last until the end of October. He added some of these roads haven’t been resurfaced in 10 years.

&uot;They’re not particularly bad right now, but they need it before they get to the place where they’re really bad,&uot; Lynd said.

He stated that other roads in the county are only paved with a light-duty surface, and he would like to fix them if there is funding. For the roads to have proper pavement, the road would have to have four inches of blacktop, which would cost $60,000 per mile.

Also Thursday, the commission approved the Natureworks Local Grant Program State/Local Project Agreement for $78,000 for the Symmes Valley Park, and members of the Lawrence County Veterans Service Commission asked to have their budget restored to its original amount before being cut. Amelia A. Pridemore/The Ironton Tribune